A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988)

Director:

William Richert

Writer:

William Richert (novel)

Release Date:

21 July 1988 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

He's got 24 hours to convince the one girl he really loves that he's honest, faithful, and fully committed. It's going to be a long night.

Plot:

A recent high school graduate is faced with two options, either go to a business school where his father wants him to go to...

Plot Keywords:

Car Accident | Female To Male Foot In Crotch | Class Differences | 1960s | Chicago

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Aren't You Even Gonna Kiss Me Goodbye? (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Island Pictures

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.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Jimmy talks to Rosie at the bowling alley, "He's So Fine" is playing. The film is set in 1962; "He's So Fine" was released in 1963.

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?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Night in the Life of Vinyl Eddie (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

CHANCES ARE

Revenge of the 80's: River Phoenix superstar!

A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988) was another starring vehicle for River Phoenix. The film is filled with a lot of teen stars that paraded around on the silver screen during the eighties. But unlike the teen comedies of today, these were rated R are just rated that way to get more of their core viewers. This was a great era for River Phoenix. He was starring like in every other big production that came out of Hollywood. But like all the stars, they eventually come down hard and River Phoenix was no exception.

The movie is about the life of a wild teen. He has all sorts of adventures and conquests. His home life is also a battlefield. Dealing with his absent father and girlfriend take a toll on his personal life as well as his school life. That is also a problem. At his age many kids are at a crossroads on what to do with their adult life. Go to school or get a job like his old man. What is a rapscallion like Jimmy going to do? Until that one wild night comes and passes.

Just another run-of-the-mill teen comedy from the eighties. Except this one's a River Phoenix starring vehicle. Nothing more, nothing less.

Recommended for fans of eighties films.