Baby It's You (1983)

After about 35 years of only seeing a couple of clips on "At the Movies with Siskel and Ebert" and reading or hearing many good notices, I finally watched this on YouTube. That upload, by the way, had one scene-the one where the leading characters are on the road getting to know each other-redubbed with the song played at the beginning: "Woolly Bully" with their dialogue not heard as a result. I later found out from a clip reel of the movie on the site that that particular scene had Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" scoring over it which isn't allowed on YouTube due to copyright issues. Okay, so Jill (Rosanna Arquette) is the overachieving and popular girl while Sheik (Vincent Spano) is the rebellious guy who doesn't take no for an answer though he's a different kind since he loves Frank Sinatra not Rock 'n' Roll and he dresses in a suit and tie not a leather jacket. I'm thinking Jill dates him because of her curiosity and she seems to like his style despite her protestations. But things happen that puts them apart just before graduation and when high school's over, Jill goes to the college of her choice and Sheik...well, I don't want to get ahead of myself. Writer/director John Sayles made quite a compelling take of people from opposite sides liking each other but not enough to resolve their differences during the turbulent '60s with suitable music to match...well, except when Bruce Springsteen music is played though it's a good choice for whenever Spano appears. I don't want to say anymore except I highly recommend Baby, It's You. Update-6/18/18: Another YT upload has the entire movie including that dubbed over scene I mentioned earlier now in its original form. Original rating stays.

A big thanks to Mr Sayles for not letting the studio ruin this movie and shame on me for taking 25 years to see it. This is a wonderful and unique look at growing up, particularly that two year period where one is a senior in high school and then the year after they graduate. For many it is probably the most important two year period of their life. Sayles takes his time examining both the before and after periods with new friends, experiences, college, first jobs, first love, sex, etc. It is all here and unless things have changed more than I know, these are all universal issues that are still relevant. The fact that the story takes place in a very specific time and place doesn't matter much although the music, cars and other props are as carefully chosen as any movie I've seen.It's sad that Hollywood rarely examines this most defining period in our lives. I was stumped trying to think of other movies that showed this transition. The closest I thought of was Bagdonovich's 'The Last Picture Show' and perhaps Crowe's 'Say Anything' but in both cases it was over a shorter period(just a summer in the latter). I finally hit upon the reason for this; and that is although it is a great game-plan for making a quality movie it is a poor one for making a popular movie. Unfortunately the studios have learned this lesson all too well.

Although I would have thought that this coming-of-age story had universal truths, I see enough negative comments that perhaps you've got to be a Baby-Boomer to love this film.The dialog is spot-on, and the lead characters beautifully personify pre-Kennedy assassination America... an innocence that comes into conflict with the hippie-era political activism, drug exploration, and general upheaval of middle American values. There are actually so many interesting layers to this film, though, I can hardly go into all of them here.Highly sensitive acting by all, one of Sayles' best.

I echo the comments of the other review posted here. The movie seems very uneven, and that adds to its lure. The interaction of Spano and Arquette seems all at once real and surreal. Any movie which makes me think of it into the next day, must have significant substance. It is rare to consider "uneven" a positive quality to a movie, but somehow this one pulls it off..