NOW AND THEN
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 5.1
United States, 1995 U.S. Availability: wide release 10/20/95 Running Length: 1:36 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Profanity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Gaby Hoffman, Christina Ricci, Thora Birch, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Demi Moore, Rosie O'Donnell, Melanie Griffith, Rita Wilson Director: Lesli Linka Glatter Producers: Suzanne Todd and Demi Moore Screenplay: I. Marlene King Cinematography: Ueli Steiger Music: Cliff Edelman U.S. Distributor: New Line Cinema
What is it about females bonding in graveyards? First, we get the climax of MOONLIGHT AND VALENTINO amidst the quiet solitude of the tombstones. Now, two key scenes in this newest women's buddy film take place in a similar setting. Unless I'm very much mistaken, this is not representative of a real-life trend. The tactic of including these sequences is symptomatic of the single major flaw suffered by both films--a contrived artificiality that deadens any possible emotional response to the characters or their situations.
Of the two, NOW AND THEN is the worse offender. Very little in this film comes across as believable. When individual moments work (and it's usually just isolated "moments", not even whole scenes), it's typically because they involve the kind minutiae anyone can dredge up from their memories. For example, consider the rather charming account of a first kiss. In penning this, screenwriter I. Marlene King probably relied more on real experience than imagination. Unfortunately, this sort of personal insight is not the norm for NOW AND THEN's hopelessly mundane script.
The film opens and closes in the modern time frame. There, we meet adult versions of our four heroines: Samantha (Demi Moore), an emotionally unstable science fiction writer; Roberta (Rosie O'Donnell), a down-to-earth, hard-working doctor; Teeny (Melanie Griffith), an actress; and Chrissy (Rita Wilson), a prudish, pregnant housewife. The occasion of their reunion is Chrissy's impending blessed event.
Between the modern-day prologue and epilogue, we are treated to an eighty-minute flashback to the Summer of 1970. There, we encounter junior high versions of Samantha (Gaby Hoffman), Roberta (Christina Ricci), Teeny (Thora Birch), and Chrissy (Ashleigh Aston Moore). For most of the film, these four are "investigating" the 1945 death of "Dear Johnny", a young boy whose spirit they believe they have summoned through an impromptu seance. In the process, they learn things about friendship, loss, and death. Everything, from the overall arc of the story to individual lines of dialogue, is too obvious.
The four young actresses are all more impressive than their adult counterparts, although certain casting choices left me scratching my head. As good as Christina Ricci is as Roberta, am I really supposed to believe that she grows up (and out) to become Rosie O'Donnell? This goes beyond a reasonable suspension of disbelief. At least the other three transformations are acceptable.
While the 1970s segments of NOW AND THEN are of the hit-and-miss variety, the 1995 scenes are uniformly bad. I had some interest in what happened with the twelve year olds, but I didn't care about them at all once they had grown up. The "now" scenes feel much like an excuse for four high-profile actresses to lend their names to this film. At best, their presence is superfluous. Yet even had the film remained entirely in the "then" time frame, it still would have been lacking. There's just not enough originality here, no matter what year it is.
- James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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