You're a Big Boy Now

Moviecut—You're a Big Boy Now

You're a Big Boy Now

Some freshmen actors walk around the streets of New York for about 90 minutes of guerilla film-making by Francis Ford Overrated. I can see the influence Godard's Breathless here, with the jump cuts and the non sequitur dialogue and ''plot." Ultimately, it's a marginally interesting travelogue with banal dialogue. I wanted more Rip Torn and Geraldine Page, less everyone else, esp Bernard's obnoxious library co-worker. Basically, juvenilia from a famous director. The classic ''film school script" full of self-indulgent cr3pola.

The more I see this dull as canned green beans, hippy dippy coming of age pic the more the mystery deepens...how did its director, in the span of five years, go from utter mediocrity to making arguably the greatest American film ever? Answers are welcome.

This movie is flawed,frustrating and...fun. What energy! What a supporting cast! What a cool score from the Lovin' Spoonful(not just "songs by")! But,yes,it is bizarre,especially for a mainstream film. It's bizarre in the way that "Harold & Maude" is bizarre. And if you think that H&M works,give this a chance. I just emailed TCM to think about doing a 1968 retrospective,as they are doing for 1939. I'm not saying that the films of 1968 were more important that 1939,but'68 is the pivotal (post WWII)year for America. Movies,films,even TV was changing and in some ways we're still trying to figure out what happened. "Big Boy" was the coming of age movie that never got its due while hundreds of thousands of Babyboomers were indeed coming of age.

One of my VERY favorite movies, but then again I grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the 1960's and very much identified with the lead character, Bernard, when I saw the movie in 1966 at 13. Touching, funny, terrific Broadway cast and very well done especially considering the minuscule budget Coppola had to work with. I can imagine Mayor Lindsay's involvement, allowing Coppola to interrupt the Times Square "crawl" and to shoot in the NYC 42nd St. Library. Check out Coppola on "Inside the Actor's Studio" on Bravo talking about this film. He said he wanted to make a movie about the two best things in life; young love and hot pretzels!

One of the great weird movies of the 60's. Anybody who loves movies of the 60's, and has missed this, has a monstrous gap in their viewing pleasure. The views of NY from that time period bring back all kinds of memories to me. There are brief pictures of Steeplechase Park and Coney Island. The cast consists of so many interesting actors/actresses: the tragic Elizabeth Hartman, the well-named Rip Torn, Tony Bill, Karen Black, Julie Harris. The person who didn't like this movie, will I guess he/she is just not into this cult classic. This movie was on my very short list of movies-I-MUST-see, and I thank goodness for IFC for showing it.

I found this to be an excellent, fun 60's movie and think it represented the 60's very well. I saw it back then when I was a preteen and the extremely talented and tragic actress Elizabeth Hartman (who looks totally different, in this, than she did in Patch of Blue) plus the song "Darling Be Home Soon" ( a beautiful, and haunting song) by the Lovin Spoonful made it unforgettable! I would love to see it again as I have forgotten a lot of it but those 2 things made a lasting impression! I agree with a previous poster that it was great that Elizabeth Hartman was given a chance to play a part other than plain looking women and this was definitely the total opposite of some other roles she had.

One of the few times when the late Elizabeth Hartman gets to play as somebody other than a frail, mousy girl. Since her Oscar Nominated performance in "A Patch of Blue," Hollywood always seemed to want her to play vulnerable, handicapped women, or vulnerable women of some sort. This time, she plays a bitchy, egotistical, man-hating actress/go-go dancer, who wins the heart of a young library clerk, played by Peter Kastner. The kind of character, who could probably be the inspiration for a riot grrrl band. Besides that, I'm a Native New Yorker, so I've got a natural attraction for movies filmed in New York City, and the rest of the tri-state area. Biff Rules!

When you see this movie in theater in '66 at age 18, you are probably going to be a YABBN cultist for life. I saw it originally because I was a Lovin' Spoonful fan (who wasn't in '66?) but was blown away by the whole thing and have seen it probably 6 or 7 times over the years. Thinking about it today in particular at the passing of the great Rip Torn, who is awesome in this along with his brilliant wife Geraldine Page. Probably will seem dated to most younger people now, but it is both a time capsule and an immortal vision of coming-of-age.