FLIPPED (2010) (***1/2)

I've read a lot of reviews of Rob Reiner's latest family film calling it nostalgic sap. Have we become so cynical that we have forgotten what it was like to be a kid developing a first crush? Can we only look at a coming of age story through the prism of our adult disappointments? I'd like to hear what a junior high kid thinks of this film. I bet they'd say they could relate.

Bryce Loski (Callan McAuliffe, upcoming I AM NUMBER FOUR) moved across the street from Juli Baker (Madeline Carroll, SWING VOTE) when he was in the second grade. She developed an instant attraction to him, while he an instant revulsion. I mean she likes to smell him; she's kind of weird. But that's only his point of view. Juli has hers, as well, and the film gives us both with each character narrating their own take on events.

The narration runs throughout the entire film. This is counter to the general notion of good filmic storytelling, because it tells instead of shows, keeping the audience from engaging directly in the experiences of the characters. Nonetheless I still found myself invested in the characters. This was mainly the case because we get two narrators. This conceit is key to the theme of the entire film, which is that point of view matters. An overgrown yard to one man is an eyesore and to another a defiant stand against a lazy landlord.

Bryce's father Steven (Anthony Edwards, TV's E.R.) looks down on a Bakers for their unkempt house and chicken coops in the back. Juli's father Richard (Aidan Quinn, LEGENDS OF THE FALL) is a proud blue-collar worker who paints in his spare time. Bryce's mother Patsy (Rebecca DeMornay, THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE) is your typical '60s stay-at-home mom who tries to keep peace in the home between her opinionated husband, passionate father Chet (John Mahoney, SAY ANYTHING…) and their rock 'n roll loving daughter Lynetta (Cody Horn, RUMOR HAS IT). Juli's mother Trina (Penelope Ann Miller, CARLITO'S WAY) is a housekeeper who makes due with what they have the best she can. While the Loskis family looks all LEAVE IT TO BEAVER on the surface, it's the Bakers that have the tight knit family life.

The title can be taken two ways. Juli Baker flipped for Bryce right away and then Juli and Bryce flipped their opinion of each other the more they got to know each other. At the center of this idea is a firm grasp of how crushes develop at this age. Juli talks about Bryce's eyes and smell, but she has never spoken more than a few sentences to him. Bryce finds her openness off putting. He, of course, is attracted to the typical blonde, but when he does speak more than a few sentences to her, he gets bored, but that doesn't matter, she's the most popular girl in school. Bryce acts according to the demands of friends, while Juli choices what she thinks on her own. These are the seeds of what make the two change their opinions of each other.

In many ways the film will remind viewers of THE WONDER YEARS due to its tone and characters. Interestingly Reiner and co-writer Andrew Scheinman changed the time period of Wendelin Van Draanen's novel from the early 2000s to the 1960s. For Reiner, I guess it was a chance to relive his childhood. It does add a nostalgic feel, but never panders to the "good ole days." This story is timeless. Kids act then as they do today only with more technology. Even a grand gesture at the end feels right, because grand gestures are the things of youth.

Those that find this film syrupy have lost all childlike innocence. It sees first romance through the eyes of its character. This film never claims Bryce and Juli will spend their lives together. It promises a first romance. First romance starts on the surface. Oh, he's cute. Oh, she's cute. And then things develop from there and the tweens learn that surface is not the whole package. Nothing is more key to growing up. You want real sap go watch TWILIGHT where teens fall madly in love at first sight and never delve deeper than I love how he sparkles.