A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988)

A recent high school graduate is faced with two options, either go to a business school where his father wants him to go to, or get a full time job. However he decides to defy his father ... See full summary »

Director:

William Richert

Writer:

William Richert (novel)

Stars:

River Phoenix, Ann Magnuson, Meredith Salenger

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
River Phoenix	...	Jimmy Reardon
Ann Magnuson	...	Joyce Fickett
Meredith Salenger	...	Lisa Bentwright
Ione Skye	...	Denise Hunter
Louanne	...	Suzie Middleberg
Matthew Perry	...	Fred Roberts (as Matthew L. Perry)
Paul Koslo	...	Al Reardon
Jane Hallaren	...	Faye Reardon
Jason Court	...	Mathew Hollander
James Deuter	...	Mr. Spaulding
Marji Banks	...	Emma Spaulding
Margaret Moore	...	Mrs. Bentwright
Anastasia Fielding	...	Elaine
Kamie Harper	...	Rosie Reardon
Johnny Galecki	...	Toby Reardon

Storyline

A recent high school graduate is faced with two options, either go to a business school where his father wants him to go to, or get a full time job. However he decides to defy his father and go to Hawaii. Trouble is he has no money. Along the way he comes to understand his parents and eventually bonds with his father.

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Plot Keywords:

chicago illinois | 1960s | adaptation directed by original author | car accident | sex | 

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Taglines:

River Pheonix is Jimmy Reardon.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 July 1988 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Aren't You Even Gonna Kiss Me Goodbye?

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$6,264,058 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Island Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movies narration was originally performed by director (William Richert). 20th Century Fox decided the movie would be better geared towards a teen audience and Richert's narration sounded 'too grandfather like'. After much debating with Richert, (River Phoenix) was brought back over a year after the film wrapped to record the narration that would replace that of Richert in the final cut.

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Goofs

When Jimmy and Fred eat at the diner, "Just One Look" is playing. The film is set in 1962; "Just One Look" was released in 1963.

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Quotes

Lisa Bentwright: [unzipping Jimmy's pants] Jimmy, Jimmy can I see it?
Lisa Bentwright: Won't something happen?
Jimmy Reardon: Not if I don't want it to.
Lisa Bentwright: It looks funny.
Jimmy Reardon: Do you wanna hurt it's feelings?

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Connections

References A Summer Place (1959)

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Soundtracks

"I'M A MAN"
Written and Performed by Bo Diddley
Courtesy of MCA Records
Copyright Arc Music BMI

User Reviews

Dull and not a likable character in the crowd.

Everyone tries awfully hard to breath some life into this bad script. In a nutshell, the main character is unsure of his future. All his friends are off to college while he hasn't a clue where to go. His only talents are reciting some bad poetry and many dalliances. There are no endearing characters. The lead character, Phoenix, is down-right unlikeable and I was only wishing that when he was getting his face pounded in one scene that it could have continued a little longer. After all the ordeal, does the character have any greater personal insight? Nope. Still directionless as he lies to his father in the closing scene. Interesting only in seeing some familiar actors in their early days. Plenty of over-acting by Phoenix through-out.