• It is an outlier of a film in John Sayles’ filmography. The bulk of his work consists of Altmanesque (Sayles is certainly an acolyte) ensemble films, often political set in a certain place at a certain time (Matewan the best) and this is a two-hander romance teen drama
  • Stars a charming Rosanna Arquette and Griffin Dunne is in there somewhere— seems clear Scorsese saw this film (both are in 1985’s After Hours)
  • Matthew Modine’s film debut (he plays an uppity WASP sort of rival to Vincent Spano’s character) as it is for Robert Downey Jr. – you can’t find RDJ in here though
  • To be clear, Sayles is not Scorsese, but the “Hard to be a Saint in the City” by Springsteen music drop when Span’s character enters the cafeteria is Scorsese- a truly great scene
  • Like 1973’s American Graffiti (another film that is nostalgia for the 1960’s) this is wall to wall music drops.
  • The music bothered a lot of the critics of the time but I think there’s a formal defense for all the choices Sayles makes. So the Spano character is in love with Sinatra- he emulates him- so there’s a lot of Sinatra diegtic to the film. The 1960’s music (The title from the Shirelles, Wooly-Bully, etc. captures the time/era kind of like 1982’s Diner, Graffiti) and then the Springsteen music captures the Spano’s character’s moods. Sayles is a big Springsteen guy (directed a few music videos in the 1980’s). This is the first time Springsteen music had ever been used in the film. It bothered critics because it’s contemporary music (or recent) in the 1980’s and this film is set in the 1960’s. It is very well done though. The Boss is perfect for Spano’s spirit (the “Adam Raised Some Cain” scene is a wow). He’s Jersey as well. It’s just tough because all three strands of music are big characters in the film. It absolutely works though
  • Strong scenes of realism with Spano’s background and father in the film— this is just a tougher tone than like the John Hughes teen/high school romance films or other 1980’s nostalgia films
  • Love the Paul Newman, Belmondo in the locker of the Arquette character
  • Arquette and Spano are perfectly cast- Jewish and Italian jersey – Spano’s character a great dresser
  • Sayles third film
  • Recommend but not in the top 10 of 1983