In 1979 Santa Barbara, Dorothea is a determined single mother who is raising her son, Jamie. Dorothea enlists the help of two women -- Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist and Julie, a savvy t... Read allIn 1979 Santa Barbara, Dorothea is a determined single mother who is raising her son, Jamie. Dorothea enlists the help of two women -- Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist and Julie, a savvy teenager -- to help with Jamie's upbringing.In 1979 Santa Barbara, Dorothea is a determined single mother who is raising her son, Jamie. Dorothea enlists the help of two women -- Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist and Julie, a savvy teenager -- to help with Jamie's upbringing.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 15 wins & 82 nominations total
Vitaly Andrew LeBeau
- Young Jamie Fields
- (as Vitaly A. Lebeau)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDuring rehearsals, the cast was encouraged to bring in music they believed their characters listened to. Then, to encourage familiarity among the cast, there would be a dance party where the only rule was that everyone had to dance and it didn't matter what the song was.
- GoofsDorothea is variously depicted discussing her stock portfolio with her son Jamie, quoting NYSE share prices in decimals, doing this in 1979. However, the switch to decimal from fractional stock prices in the U.S. did not occur until the year 2000.
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movies of 2016 Already Getting Oscar Buzz (2016)
- SoundtracksDon't Worry About the Government
Written by David Byrne
Performed by Talking Heads
Courtesy of Sire Records
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing
Featured review
Just like the central character in this film, I was born in 1964. Just like him, I was 15 in 1979. My mother was only two years older than his mother. So, you'd think I could relate to this film. But I couldn't, really.
Maybe that is because I didn't grow up in a bohemian single parent household in Santa Barbara. Life for 15 year old Jamie was different than it was from me. I had two parents, but I didn't have a skateboard.
Yes, I can remember Jimmy Carter being president. But I didn't see his impressive and remarkably modern 'Crisis of Confidence'-speech, which is an important feature in one of the scenes of this film. There's only one thing which caused somewhat nostalgic emotions: making mix tapes. Yes, I did that too.
'20th Century Women', which is essentially about a mother raising a son, has nice scenes. I really liked the explanation about punk rock music to the 55 year old mother: she complains about the lack of beauty, but exactly that is the strength of it. There are many such scenes, with small but meaningful events, telling a lot about how life was in the seventies.
But the story itself didn't captivate me. Jamie's mother thinks she can't raise Jamie on her own, so she involves his best friend (a girl) and a photographer who rents a room in the house (also a girl). They teach him lots of things about sex, music, seducing women, and life in general. All characters are in a way in search of there own destiny. So, a lot of soul searching is going on. Anyway, the film contains one of the best one-liners I've heard in years: 'Wondering if you're happy is a great shortcut to just being depressed'.
Maybe that is because I didn't grow up in a bohemian single parent household in Santa Barbara. Life for 15 year old Jamie was different than it was from me. I had two parents, but I didn't have a skateboard.
Yes, I can remember Jimmy Carter being president. But I didn't see his impressive and remarkably modern 'Crisis of Confidence'-speech, which is an important feature in one of the scenes of this film. There's only one thing which caused somewhat nostalgic emotions: making mix tapes. Yes, I did that too.
'20th Century Women', which is essentially about a mother raising a son, has nice scenes. I really liked the explanation about punk rock music to the 55 year old mother: she complains about the lack of beauty, but exactly that is the strength of it. There are many such scenes, with small but meaningful events, telling a lot about how life was in the seventies.
But the story itself didn't captivate me. Jamie's mother thinks she can't raise Jamie on her own, so she involves his best friend (a girl) and a photographer who rents a room in the house (also a girl). They teach him lots of things about sex, music, seducing women, and life in general. All characters are in a way in search of there own destiny. So, a lot of soul searching is going on. Anyway, the film contains one of the best one-liners I've heard in years: 'Wondering if you're happy is a great shortcut to just being depressed'.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Twentieth Century Women
- Filming locations
- East Beach, Santa Barbara, California, USA(Santa Barbara, CA)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $7,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,664,764
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $111,200
- Jan 1, 2017
- Gross worldwide
- $7,214,806
- Runtime1 hour 59 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.00 : 1
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