A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

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

Quotes:

Jimmy Reardon: Al? Al Reardon? My father. My moral, upright, coffee sluping, status seeking, putting in overtime, hard day at the office, early rising, early bedding, make your own way in life father, had been screwing Joyce Fickett! that balding man with responsibilities was an extramarital joy-boy! no wonder i was having so much trouble! It was hereditary!

Movie Connections:

References A Summer Place (1959)

Soundtrack:

HE'S SO FINE

The anti-comedy

"A Night In The Life Of Jimmy Reardon" is a grinless Coming Of Age film which has been mis-packaged as a comedy. It almost seems as if half the film was in the can before someone on high decided to change the genre... either that or Richert forgot to film a lot of scenes.

River Phoenix is said to have been ashamed of his part in the film, but he is actually not bad, considering the material he had to rise above. Reardon gives us a Phoenix who has not yet become hard-eyed, 'though the character he played was nearly graceless. River still had fuzz on his chin and boyish charm. This was a young man on the cusp of greatness.

The adult actors in this film were dreadful and the other young actors were uneven. I hardly recognized Mathew Perry. Talk about a baby face!

Watching Reardon is like watching kids try to play grownup. The script was originally written for older actors and would have been better if older actors were used. Those used seemed hardly past puberty, and had no idea how to play "sexually jaded" at all.

Overall, I prefer Reardon to "Dogfight" as a River Phoenix vehicle and a comparison of the box-office take shows many others did too.

See it if only to see a still innocent River Phoenix playing a young man far removed from himself.