After

First Hit: Good girl and bad boy, a predictable sappy story of young romance.

This film is made for young teen girls as witnessed by the number that showed up for the early Friday afternoon showing I attended. Cell phones screens lit the anticipatory faces of these young audience members and unfortunately, they kept looking at them during the film.

The Story: Tessa Young (Josephine Langford) is headed to college. Her mother Carol (Selma Blair) has worked hard to create this opportunity for her daughter. Tessa is smart, pretty, and wholesome. Her boyfriend Noah (Dylan Arnold) is a senior in high school and a year behind her in school. He’s wholesome and is liked by Carol.

Arriving at her dorm room, both Carol and Noah are taken aback by Tessa’s roommate Tristan (Pia Mia). She’s hanging out with another fellow girl on the bed, and she’s pulling on an electronic cigarette while dressed in a very skimpy outfit.

Carol immediately wants to go to the housing authority to find her daughter another room. Pulling her mother off the ledge of embarrassing her, Tessa tells her mom, “let me figure this out on my own.”

Getting to know Tristan loosens Tessa up a little and when she goes to a party Tristan knows about; she’s out of her element. At the party she meets the bad boy, Hardin Scott (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). During a truth or dare, Tessa is asked to kiss Hardin, she is lulled into getting close, but pulls away at the last second. Walking through the party’s house, she stumbles into Hardin’s room and sees all the books on his shelves. He comes in, she’s interested to follow through with the kiss, but she also wants to honor her relationship with Noah and pulls away again.

The stage is set because they both have had absentee fathers. We learn more about why Hardin has such a sad view of love and relationships through his upbringing which is demonstrated through a classroom discussion. We also see Tessa’s cautiousness towards intimacy because her father walked out when she was very young.

The story goes back and forth with Tessa and Hardin getting together and then splitting up. She’s naïve to some of the life that Hardin has lived. There are moments of wonderful tenderness between the two and then there are moments of coldness by them.

The pacing of this story is slow, and it isn’t difficult to know where the movie is going and why. I’m not sure how well it held the audience it was meant for, because a whole row of young girls got up and left two thirds into the film. Additionally, two others in the row in front of me left in the last fifteen minutes.

Langford was okay in this role. There was nothing outstanding about her performance and it was believable. It was good to see Blair again, it has been some time since she’s been in a film role and she was good. Tiffin was mediocre as the bad boy. It was predictable and there was nothing that really made his performance stand out. I didn’t think there was much chemistry between him and Langford. Arnold was good as the, wise beyond his years, high school boyfriend. Mia was strong as the slightly edgy fun lesbian roommate. Jennifer Beals and Peter Gallagher were good as Hardin’s new mother-in-law and father. It was a pleasant surprise to see Beals again. Susan McMartin wrote a slow-moving predictable story. Jenny Gage directed in a way that ended up feeling compromised and mediocre.

Overall: I patiently waited for this film to end and left knowing it wasn’t worth the cost of making it.

Burlesque

First Hit: Some great singing in a film with a thin plot. But is was very entertaining.

Cher has always been able to project something good with her singing. In her one full song, she knocks it out of the park.

Cher plays Tess half owner of a slowly fading Burlesque theater in Los Angeles. The other half owner is Vince (played by Peter Gallagher) her former husband. Unfortunately, the club is losing money and Vince is trying to find a way to get some money out of it for himself and Tess. His drive comes off as desperate and we never really know why.

But Tess “will never let the theater be sold”. All the girls lip-sync their songs except Tess. Their show is bawdy, clean and fun. In comes Ali (played by Christina Aguilera) who has ventured out from Ohio looking to find a place to sing and dance. She eventually gets her chance when Nikki (played by Kristen Bell) shows up drunk one too many times.

In a fit of anger Nikki unplugs the lip-syncing music and Ali is standing on the stage with no music. So, she improvises and finishes the routine by singing in her own voice. Of course she is a sensation and Tess decides to build a whole new routine around her.

Also Ali is attracted to an engaged bartender named Jack (played by Cam Gigandet). The scene stealer during the film is Stanley Tucci who plays Tess’ confidant and stage manager Sean. When he is on the screen he is the one who grabs your attention.

Cher is very good as the mothering woman who’s seen it all and knows what it is she wants to spend her time doing. Gallagher is good but there is no real depth as to why he’s so panicked about getting his money. Aguilera is wonderful as Ali and her voice shows flexibility and strength. She was perfect for this role. Gigandet was good as Ali’s romantic interest and they have some fun scenes together. Tucci is fabulous. He is the soul of the Burlesque house and this film. Steve Antin wrote and directed this film and for the most part he got it right except the ending number could not have been held in the club we first saw during the opening sequence. Somewhere continuity was lost.

Overall: This is very good entertainment – no more, no less.

Adam

First Hit: Well acted and a truly wonderful little film with a beautiful story of love and growth.

Asperger’s syndrome is a major player in this film as we, along with Beth (played by Rose Byrne), get to learn what it’s about and how to understand someone who has it.

Briefly; people affected have difficulty in social situations, have little empathy for another, may not know what a joke is because everything is taken literally, likes routines in everything and is preoccupied with a few very specific interests.

This is a key element in this film and the filmmakers create direct and real events to share this information with the audience. Hugh Dancy plays Adam a young man in his early 20’s who is an electrical engineer and has Aspergers syndrome.

At the beginning of the film we see him at his father’s funeral and, as Adam goes back to his now empty apartment, we see him simply going about his life. A young girl named Beth moves in upstairs and she is direct letting Adam know she would like to know more about him.

Adam, doesn’t get the hint very well, but as they speak and get to know each other a little better, Adam becomes more bold. At one point, Adam openly and naively states he was sexually aroused. Here is the moment the filmmakers use to begin the explanation of Asperger’s syndrome.

As Beth learns more she continues to be intrigued by this very real, almost childlike man, who enjoys her company. As their relationship develops, her father Marty (played by Peter Gallagher) tries to dissuade her from Adam because he is not good enough for her.

However Marty’s got problems of his own and there is some wonderful spot on acting by Amy Irving as Marty’s wife Rebecca as these problems come to light. As Adam and Beth's relationship grows and contracts, both of them learn about their life and what it takes to move forward. I thought then end scene was particularly heartwarming.

Hugh Dancy was spectacular as Adam. Not once did I not believe he was the character as he pushed the boundaries of Adam’s limitations. Byrne was sweet and complex enough to make Beth a critical and strong proponent of Adam’s evolution. Frankie Faison as Harlan, Adam’s dad and Adam’s friend, was beautifully strong, sincere as he guided Adam in some of his difficult steps. Irving was joyous to see on the screen again and in her brief appearances delivered critical comments and looks which spoke realms into the dynamics of love. Max Mayer both wrote and directed this wonderful film with empathy, kindness and mindfulness.

Overall: A truly wonderful film from beginning to end mostly because of Dancy’s acting and the cast’s commitment to make this film honest.