Some movies come out of left field and surprise the heck out of ya. I caught this charming film on a Big ‘80s marathon on Encore, having followed the dubious LOVER BOY. For a teen film, the movie has real weight and grit.
Clifford Peache (Chris Makepeace, VAMP) is the new kid in his school. Bully Melvin Moody (Matt Dillon, CRASH) extorts money from kids to protect them from rumored psychopath Ricky Linderman (Adam Baldwin, SERENITY). After taking just too much abuse, Clifford actually gets Ricky to be his bodyguard. Clifford wants to thank Ricky for his help, but the tall loner doesn’t really want to make friends. But Clifford is persistent. The rest of the film develops the strange friendship that develops between the wealthy Clifford and the poor Ricky.
The film plays high school naturally and realistically. The characters are not caricatures. Besides the leads, a young Joan Cusack (IN & OUT) plays Clifford’s friend Shelley, Martin Mull (THE HISTORY OF WHITE PEOPLE IN AMERICA) plays Clifford’s friend-like father Larry and Ruth Gordon (HAROLD & MAUDE) plays Clifford’s daring Gramma. What’s amazing about Clifford’s dad and grandmother is that they aren’t features of the plot. They’re real characters that make us understand Clifford better.
Makepeace is good, but the real stand out performance comes from Adam Baldwin, who creates a natural brooding character whose secrets run deep and is a person using a tough front to hold back a well of emotion. The film doesn’t trump up the conflict either. I was surprised at how the film effortlessly builds tension between Clifford and Ricky toward the end.
This surprised me in the same way A LITTLE ROMANCE did. A lot of times drama/comedies set in high school are either crude or overly sentimental. This film forgets it’s a “teen film” and just develops characters to inhabit a touching story.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
