Now and Then (1995)

Very Cool!!!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Now and Then is as if Stand By Me (1986) and The Babysitter's Club (1995) were thrown together in a blender. It has fairly decent acting (Rosie O'Donnell and Walter Sparrow give excellent performances) and a pretty good soundtrack. Set in the nostalgic era of Super-8, modern suburbs and kids still frequently going outside, 1970, Now and Then is the story of four adult women going down memory lane in the Nineties and talking about their memorable summer as children. As kids they were all dealing with their own issues: Roberta was obsessed with death and "playing dead" after her mother was killed, Chrissy has no idea what sex is and feels immature compared to her friends, Teeny is a stuck-up only child who seems to know too much and Samantha's father has run off; her parents are getting a divorce. Their summer goal is to save up enough money for a large treehouse, but they get sidetracked when ghosts, family matters and their own growing up all interfere.Now And Then was a pretty good movie but definitely not original, it's a girly version of Stand By Me and mimics nearly every aspect of it. Christina Ricci was in it as the childhood Roberta, and she's a really great actress, no doubt about it, but she was in so many similar roles during the 1990's (The Addams Family, The Ice Storm, Mermaids, etc.) that she's overused and not very effective once you've already seen her in a million other things. Just like Dakota and Elle Fanning and Chloe Grace Moretz are overused way too much in the 21st century, Christina Ricci was in their place during the Nineties. She does a good acting job but it's just not convincing when she's been in so many other movies like Now and Then.The plot was very childish (yeah, I know it's about kids), but childish that it makes the characters acting like eight-year-olds rather than their supposed ages in the story. Still, the cast choice as adults was amazing, they look very much as you would picture the characters to be as grown-ups. Rosie O' Donnell looks exactly like an older Christina Ricci and so on.Now and Then isn't bad, it's a typical nostalgia movie. It isn't as good as Running With Scissors (2006) or The Ice Storm (1997) but it manages to keep you watching, so you've got to give it credit for that.

When you watch this 1995 movie in 2012, you wish all children grow up in small towns with the simplicity and innocence that comes with it.. it has its own share of maturity, " it is normal when things are shitty ".. the movie shows that real understanding can lead to a life-long friendship among four characteristically different kids..one having a tragic past, another having quarrelling parents, yet another being given unreal sex education by an embarrassed, yet caring mother..The kids have done excellent acting.. the pace is smooth.. the biggest lesson comes from from a mysterious man who visits a particular grave in a cemetery.. A must-see for all parents and also for all children who want to avoid loneliness

Watching this reminded me of the Korean movie "Sunny" although this came out first. Well it wouldn't be a shock if the director of "Sunny" was influenced by this movie. The dialogue however didn't seem as natural sometimes and seemed like watching some southern novel that isn't really down to earth. It just didn't seem like what a group of women would be saying to each other, but than again the story switches back from the 70's to 90's when it comes to the characters. The dialogue just seemed too safe to be natural despite the sexual stuff and it's a girly movie. Since the 4 main character are 4 girls in the 70's and women in the 90's. Anyways the story is about 4 women getting together after spending there childhood together and reminisce of the past and adventures they had together. Although most of it takes place during a summer. Now I am not a fan of Rosie O'Donnell, to be honest I think she is irritating to watch sometimes. Her character is like the main character or leader of the pack and I thought it was ridiculous her younger version would be played by Christina Ricci. Not that I am a fan of Ricci either, but the comparison is too big to the point you can get confused who is who sometimes when it comes to the younger version with the older version or visa versa. So yeah I don't know if Rosie picked her younger version but it's just absurd. Overall this is a touching movie that most girls and maybe some boys will probably enjoy watching and parents will probably enjoy it as well. It really does give off a nostalgic feel because of the friendship, even if you didn't go through the same things the girls did in the movie. I give this movie a 6.8 because the development of the characters aren't done all that great and somethings are not explained and not for good reasons. Some say this is a female version of "Stand By Me" and I agree to certain extent.6.8/10

Now and Then is an excellent coming-of-age movie that gives voice to both the Baby-Boomers' perspective and feminism. The movie's look at the American family provides critique to those changes in family dynamics peculiar to the Baby-Boomer childhood. Beyond its treatment of family dynamics, the plot entertains through adventure; that adventure underscores the loss of freedom in American childhood to do dangerous things typical in a Baby-Boomer childhood that we dared not tell our parents. The cast was solid, although the youth-to-adult match-ups bothered me. I struggled with Christina Ricci growing up to become Rosie O (ironically they delivered the best acting performances). If you enjoy coming of age movies like Stand by Me, Now and Then is its feminine counterpart. In both of these movies, the narrator reflects on the beauty of being twelve years old--living in the moment and having pure friendships. If you enjoy movies that celebrate sisterhood over the generations like 'The Joy Luck Club' or 'A League of Our Own' (another Rosie O movie), Now and Then is a superb choice.