A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988)

William Richert directed and wrote the novel as a youngster on which A Night In The Life Of Jimmy Reardon is based. Sad to say he failed to capture whatever charm there was in the book for his lead character. As River Phoenix plays him, Jimmy is spoiled, hedonistic, self-indulgent, and a liar. Maybe he should have gone into politics.Richert wrote the book in the Sixties and that's where the film is set, a rich suburb of Chicago. Phoenix as Jimmy Reardon is spoiled kid who has sex more on his mind than anything else, not atypical for someone his age. He's a chick magnet even when he's not trying.What this one wants to do is somehow get an airline ticket to Hawaii where he believes he can be a beachcomber and live off tourists. His father, Paul Koslo, wants him to go to school or get a job, the nerve of the man. So Phoenix hatches this scheme to somehow get enough money in the next 24 hours to fly to Hawaii or its either, the street, a job, or school. That is if the women can leave him alone, which apparently they can't.Including one cougar who is deliciously played by Ann Magnuson, she's the best thing in the film.River Phoenix's fans usually consider this one of, if not the worst film of his short career. I'm inclined to agree with them. River is certainly sexy enough in this film, but he's so incredibly dislikeable in this part.

I only tuned into this film to see Ione Skye. Denise (Ione Skye) and Jimmy (River Phoenix) had an interesting thing going on. Outside of her, I am really not sure what was going on.Jimmy seemed to be trying to find his own way and not follow what others wanted him to do. Sort of a slacker, he was in constant turmoil with his father until they managed to find something in common to bind them together. :-) He totally screwed things up with his girlfriend, but one suspects that he might have decided to try again as the movie ends. Who Knows? I really was hoping for a film that would give me an idea of what River was like as an actor. This wasn't it. It really didn't have much going for it except Ione.

This movie is a gem. It's funny and highly enjoyable. Yes, River's character is a bit of a jerk, but they cleverly added something to his character, he's a poet. It's the only deep thing about him that makes him seem human. Something that really makes Jimmy unlikable is that he thinks with his dick. but I really admire him because once he made up his mind about doing something, he did whatever he could to make it happen. The one thing that made absolutely no sense though, was the fact that he was best friends with a guy who was afraid of girls, what the hell did they have in common? The quote at the very beginning saying that our goal is to realize that we have always been where we ought to be, completely epitomizes how Jimmy was supposed to go to business school like his father had wanted him to, the ending also goes along with this very well. Jimmy Reardon was an extremely original character, I don't think we've seen one like him before or since. God Bless William Richert.

This is supposed to be a fun, hip, easy movie portraying the sexcapades of a teenage bad boy. What it does, however, is features grown women having illegal sex with a minor CHILD! This isn't funny! It isn't enjoyable. It doesn't document the trials of teenage angst. It doesn't demonstrate the pains of teenage love. What this did was tell an entire society that this activity was appropriate and commonly practiced. While the later may be the case, the former is NOT.I was not amused, nor was I entertained. This movie is a fecal abortion that belongs in the toilet.No rating. It doesn't rate one.the Fiend :.