Now and ThenThe four girls are a close-knit group as early teenagers, and 25 years later meet again. The focus is on the former period, and the young actresses do a very good job.
The success or failure of this story of bonding and growth of four best
friends rests on the shoulders of the four 12-year-old actresses. In the
beginning we get a glimpse of what has become of them 25 years later, and
in the end we get another brief look. These "25 years later" sequences are
what could have made the movie something more than average, but for some
reason they are so short that there is no time to give the four adult
characters nearly enough time to develop.
Luckily the four young actresses do a splendid job. Christina Ricci, great
where ever she appears, plays a fierce tomboy. She becomes a doctor,
played, oddly, by Rosie O'Donnell.
 Thora makes an impression as a sexually precocious girl who likes to pad
her chest and go where the boys are. Gaby's character is distressed over
the divorce of her parents, and later turns out a neurotic but successful
writer. Ashleigh plays a girl who already shows every sign of becoming the
prudish housewife she ends up as. Each character is unique but not
overdone.
While the concept of the movie has little originality, and the structure
and ending are failures, the story and direction are genuine, and the young
stars make the movie interesting by their sheer charisma.
This is a mini-review. We mostly write full reviews only for the best or most inspiring movies. You're welcome to submit better or new reviews. |
Christina Ricci
Other ReviewsChristina's SitesThora Birch
Other ReviewsThora's SitesNow and Then |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
