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A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988)

Director: William Richert

Average user rating
3 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

William (Winter Kills) Richert's rites of passage movie is based on a novel he wrote 20 years ago when he was 19. Set in Chicago in 1962, it's narrated by the eponymous hero (Phoenix), a socially-ambitious 17-year-old from the wrong side of the tracks, who models himself on Dean, Kerouac and Casanova. The film charts a crucial few days, between school and college, in which his boyhood illusions of a glittering campus career, and an idyllic romance with virginal Ivy Leaguer Salenger, succumb to a manly assumption of responsibility. The trouble starts when he is conned by an ex into paying for her abortion with money intended for college; then, planning to elope with Salenger, he falls foul of his own libido, bedding everyone from his best friend's girl to a divorcee acquaintance of his mother. While the film has the charm of rose-tinted retrospect and is often very funny, the pacing is wrong (it seems much longer than it is) and the sex scenes fail to convince.

Author: EP 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


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User reviews of this film

  • Nothing of the sort hap said...
    Posted on Oct 23 2009 01:53 Nothing of the sort happens with our permanganate molecules. ,
    Report as inappropriate
  • Megan said...
    Posted on Jun 10 2008 00:14 i love this movie very good its a drama and River Phoenix does an amazing job as the charcter of Jimmy Reardon
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  • Megan said...
    Posted on Mar 04 2008 00:15 Great movie I love it Best teen drama with River Phonix
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