I kept avoiding seeing "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon" for a while after a disastrous bad impression over its first minutes,
can't tell for sure what happened in that first attempt years ago. But without any more River Phoenix films to watch, this was the one missing and
I wish I could go without. Almost pointless in what's trying to do, unfunny and presenting what could be one of the most unlikeable and
detestable lead characters in a comedy - one cannot do that in a comedy. William Richert's adaptation of his own novel "Aren't You Even
Going To Kiss Me Goodbye?" was sufferable through nearly its entirety, with some interesting moments and a decent acting from the cast, but
it's beyond salvation.
Deep down in "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon" there's a valid (and cliched) criticism on the final years of the American dream of
the 1950's and the loss of innocence of the 1960's. Here, the young title character (Phoenix) is completely lost with a decision he has to
make: to enter the college his dad attended (which the kid hates the idea) or join a college he wants with the artful studies he likes. The
dad, played by Paul Koslo, is one of those formulaic characters made to yell and scream at wife and kids throughout the movie, but based
on the film bookends he changes drastically (with a given reason).
The problem with Jimmy is that he's still trying to understand life,
relationships, as he's also a ladies man but also romantically involved with a rich girl (Meredith Salenger) who refuses to go to bed with him -
her parents disapproves of the poor young stud, and he's basically used as a boytoy to please the girl's whims (as I kept watching their
moments I couldn't help but thinking of a dull song that I like that had such description). The challenge is to get money from all sources
possible to have a trip to Hawaii with the girl and countless situations ensues, none of them funny or interesting - except for affair with
an older woman (Ann Magnuson).
Had it used the more serious underlined themes and removing the comedy altogether, this might have been a more interesting film. By the
time Reardon finds out about the hypocrisy of the adult world and some sense comes to his head, we almost feel sorry for all the troubles he
was put. Almost, since he's a completely obnoxious character who makes all the poor decisions possible despite being a smart guy who knows how
to get out of situations. The typical teen with countless things over his head, Jimmy Reardon is someone who doesn't know that the word priority
must not be used as a plural - the moment you define "priorities" you lose the essence of what really is a priority to be done/solved. But honestly,
I couldn't care about the trip, the money, the college or his attempts in fixing a date for his best buddy (Matthew Perry, on his film debut) since
Reardon becomes a total annoyance.
Richert's idea in making of River Phoenix a teen hearthrob was a total miss and a major problem. Phoenix could fit such description as he was
a great looking young man. But there was more to it. A sensible and talented young actor who could disappear in his roles, with a great complexity
and charisma. To have him reduced in being 'what the girls dream and want' didn't help him and he felt that. To the fans, skip this without worry. 5/10.
