Now And Then (DVD)

...╣The Film╠

Now and Then tells the story of 4 friends who, during the summer of 1970, made a pact to promise to return home and be there for one another whenever they needed each other. That was when the girls' were 12, and since then, the friends have been leading their own lives, away from their hometown, but one of them is pregnant, and wants her friends to be with her for the special moment, meaning the friends' pact ...
...about.

Roberta, now played by Christina Ricci had her mother pass away when she was 4, and she has grown up with her father and 3 brothers, so we know that she is kind of a tomboy. When Roberta is introduced, she is shown taping her boobs flat, which also adds to the tomboy character.

Teeny, played by Thora Birch is blonde, pretty and girly. She is an aspiring actress and is introduced to us whilst she is accepting a ... more

Not a new member btw, so no need to think it's too good for newbie!

Tagline - A summer when four friends made a promise to return anytime they needed each other. Twenty years later, that time has come.

╣Cast╠

The cast is very good, many A-list actors feature in this film

>Christina Ricci (Addam's Family series) - Roberta Martin (teenager)
>Rosie O'Donnell (The Flintstones) - Roberta Martin (adult)

>Thora Birch (Hocus Pocus) - Tina Tercell (teenager)
>Melanie Griffith (Working Girl) - Tina Tercell (adult)

>Gaby Hoffman (Volcano) - Samantha Albertson (teenager)
>Demi Moore (Indecent Proposal) - Samantha Albertson (adult)

>Ashleigh Aston Moore (The Grave) - Chrissy DeWitt (teenager)
>Rita Wilson (Raise Your Voice and Tom Hanks' wife) - Chrissy DeWitt (adult)

Other actors/characters:

Walter Sparrow (Peak Practice, Dalziel and Pascoe) - Crazy Pete
Hank Azaria (The voice of Moe and other characters in The Simpsons) - Bud Kent
Bonnie Hunt (Cheaper By The Dozen 1 and 2) - Chrissy's Mum
Brendan Frazier (The Mummy1, 2 and 3) - War Veteran
Rumer Willis (Demi Moore and Bruce Willis' daughter) - Samantha's younger sister

╣The Film╠

Now and Then tells the story of 4 friends who, during the summer of 1970, made a pact to promise to return home and be there for one another whenever they needed each other. That was when the girls' were 12, and since then, the friends have been leading their own lives, away from their hometown, but one of them is pregnant, and wants her friends to be with her for the special moment, meaning the friends' pact to be there for one another, made over 20 years ago, is finally about to happen.

As the film starts, we are introduced to Samantha, played by Demi Moore, driving back to Shelby, Indiana to be with her friend Chrissy during the birth of her baby. Samantha does a voice over telling viewers about how she never wanted to return to Shelby once she left, and how nervous and unexcited she is about returning now.

We are soon introduced to Roberta, played by Rosie O'Donnell, whilst she is out shopping. When Roberta returns home, this is when Chrissy, played by Rita Wilson is introduced. Soon enough, the final friend Teeny, played my Melanie Griffith arrives at Chrissy's home, and the four friends are reunited for the first time in many years. The friends start to catch up on each other's lives, talking about their career choices, relationships and marriages. This leads the girls to talk about one of their favourite summer's as kids, the summer of 1970. From now, the film is a 'flashback' to that summer, where the 4 friends are aged 12.

When the film turns into a flashback of the friends as kids, we are introduced to each character separately, so you know straight away what each character is about.

Roberta, now played by Christina Ricci had her mother pass away when she was 4, and she has grown up with her father and 3 brothers, so we know that she is kind of a tomboy. When Roberta is introduced, she is shown taping her boobs flat, which also adds to the tomboy character.

Teeny, played by Thora Birch is blonde, pretty and girly. She is an aspiring actress and is introduced to us whilst she is accepting a pretend Emmy from herself. Her parents would rather spend time in the Country Club than with their daughter. Teeny puts water bombs in her bra, which is how we can tell that she is totally different in way of character to Roberta.

Chrissy, played by Ashleigh Aston Moore is the childish one. She is chubby, not as clued up as her friends about life, and dresses like a little girl, mostly in pink. Chrissy is the one who is pregnant, which is kind of ironic when you watch the film and realise what Chrissy was like as a kid.

Samantha is played by Gaby Hoffman; she is interested in science and supernatural things, so we know Samantha is the intelligent one of the friends. Her parents are arguing in the background, when she is introduced, so you know that her home life isn't as happy as her friend's.

After the introduction to the four friends, the film goes on to tell the story of the summer of 1970, where the girls try to keep themselves occupied in Shelby, Indiana, a quiet, safe and secure town where nothing interesting ever happens. They want to raise money to buy a tree house, and at the same time, try to discover a local mystery involving a local old man who the teenagers nickname Crazy Pete. The girls end up on a summer adventure, going through personal issues like parents divorcing, and realising that the world is not as perfect as their home town seems to be, and how their parents make it out to be. They realise how important friends are, and how complicated life is going to get as they grow older.

╣What I Think / Who Would Enjoy It╠

>Characters - From the introduction from the characters in the first 5 minutes of the 'flashback' part of the film, you can tell straight away that the 4 friends are all different to each other. You have a tomboy, a girly flirt, the goody two shoes, and the intelligent one. I like how they are all different instead of all blonde and all perfectly dressed and immaculate like today's teenage focused films are. Even though the film is set in the 1970's, it is more realistic than recent films like this one, in terms of characters.

>Cast - The cast that the film has is very good. There are many well known actors in the film. As I was only 11 when I first saw it, I only knew Demi Moore, Melanie Griffith, Christina Ricci and Thora Birch. I think these 4 are the most well known actors in the film. Rita Wilson is another well known actress, but when I was younger, I didn't know who she was and had never seen her in anything before. Gaby Hoffman and Ashleigh Aston Moore are the least known, Gaby being mainly an American TV actress and not been in much before Now And Then, and Ashleigh is the same, and hasn't acted since 1997. Rosie O'Donnell is another well known personality, but not for an 11 year old kid who never watched talk shows back then. I've grown up watching her on TV and know who she is now, and how well known she was when this film was released. All in all the cast is great and all the actors play the characters really well. I couldn't imagine replacing any of the actors with anybody else.

>Storyline - The storyline is also very realistic as you can imagine, living in a place where there isn't much to do, you have to find things to occupy yourself, and riding around on your bike bored during your summer holidays isn't what you want to do, so you end up doing the first thing that comes into your mind, finding adventures etc. This is what these friends do. Trying to raise money to buy a tree house but also having little adventures and coming to terms with the outside world and young teenage life, worries etc.

This is one of my favourite films of all time. I prefer to watch this than something like Mean Girls. Even though I really enjoyed Mean Girls, just the kind of main characters in these kinds of films, like I said before are usually plastic, beautiful, having sex all the time, and it really annoys me. Now And Then has more realistic characters that you would expect a 12 year old to be like.

There are a couple of laughs in the films, especially with Chrissy's Mum at one point where she tries to explain what sex is. Chrissy herself adds a bit of humour to the films, as do a couple of other characters.

Any female of any age would enjoy this film. I first saw it when I was about 11 and I am now 18 and still love it. It isn't a childish film, yet it isn't a grown-up film, it's just an all round family film for everybody, except the guys! You will also enjoy it if you grew up in the 1970's as you would remember the dress sense, the hairstyles, furniture, items, and of course the soundtrack.

Also if you liked the film Stand By Me, with River Phoenix, this film has been compared to that as one of the best 'coming of age' movies. Although it isn't as gritty as that, as Now And Then is more girly and more fun.

╣The Soundtrack╠

I love the soundtrack to this film. My Mum grew up in the 1970's so she usually plays 60's, 70's and 80's music, so I know a lot of Mowtown and stuff and really like it. As this film is set in the 1970's obviously the music is 70's music.

Sugar, Sugar - The Archies
Knock Three Times - Tony Orlando and Dawn
I Want You Back -Jackson 5
Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
Band Of Gold - Freda Payne
Daydream Believer - The Monkees
No Matter What - Badfinger
Hitchin' A Ride - Vanity Fare
All Right Now - Free
I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Diana Ross and the Supremes
I'll Be There - Jackson 5
These Boots Are Made For Walking - Nancy Sinatra

Every time a song plays during the film, I song along dead loud, I just can't help it!

╣DVD Features╠

DVD features include:

>Audio - Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital Surround

>Trailer - The Theatrical Trailer, which would have been played in cinemas.

>Text/Photo Galleries - This shows you photos and still from the movie with texts to describe the picture you are viewing.

>Cast and Crew Filmographies - This just list the main 8 actors' Filmographies, which means all the films that the actors have appeared in. Also lists the crews' Filmographies.

Very short DVD features, not much more to say, as they aren't that great.

╣Other Information╠

The film was released in 1995, on VHS in 1996. I never remember the film being advertised for the pictures, and many people I've mentioned this film to have never heard of it. With the A-List cast, I would have thought the film had more exposure. It was nominated for one small award in the Young Artist Awards for a Best Performance by a Young Ensemble. I think if this film was released now, I think it would have been more successful and more recognised than it was over 10 years ago.

It was only released on DVD n 2004. I had it on video but decided to get it on DVD, as lets face it is easier than videos in terms of rewinding, fast forwarding, sound and picture quality.

The film was directed by Leslie Linker Glatter, who has never directed films before, has only done TV work, including The West Wing, Third Watch, ER and Grey's Anatomy among others. She also does TV Movies.

Demi Moore produced the film, and Leslie wanted most of the main crew to be female to fit with the theme of the film itself. This was achieved, as there are hardly any male crew members except cameramen and technical staff.

You can get the film on DVD for £5.99 delivered on Play.com.
Amazon.co.uk has it on DVD for £7, but is £3.30 on Marketplace. VHS, just in case you want it on VHS, is £2.45 on Marketplace.

This is my first film review!
Thanks for reading
x Staz x 

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