because you can't have too much entertainment... May 2000

* First Timers *
or: "I got old and lived to complain about it."

The Virgin Suicides Dir: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, James Woods, Kathleen Turner & Josh Hartnett

daydreaming...

I've begun to believe that being a teenage girl these days would not be all bad. If I were a teenager I would no longer have to bemoan the death of MTV and the art of the music video. I would instead get a simple thrill from shouting "whooooooo!" in Times Square after making inane comments about someone's 'hot'ness. If I were a teenager I would no longer sigh with frustration at the magazine rack staring at a sea of covers of the Leelee Sobieskis & Freddie Prinze Jrs. of the world. I would instead get obsessive about all the cute young actors that have small talent but big publicists. Maybe I would even decorate my locker with pictures of N'Sync rather than wracking my brain trying to understand how ANYONE finds them 'hot' when they're...well, I'm sorry -they're just plain old UGLY! If I were a teen...

No. Stop. That last example scared me too much. I'll stay 30-years-old and keep my sensibilities intact. I would be scared for my sanity if I enjoyed Christina Aguilera and ignored Fiona Apple. So here's the deal. I am officially adult! I no longer can relate to teen culture and the only reason this really upsets me is that I LOVE POP CULTURE and pop culture has become entirely a teen affair. Even VH-1 which is supposed to be for boring grownups like me is completely uninteresting. Shania Twain?????!!!!!! Rock and Roll Jeopardy? When did mainstream taste get this bad? What happened to the world?

But I lose my train of thought...

My point was that since the entire entertainment world is now catering to preteens and teens rather than 20-30 somethings I was feeling a little jealous about the attention and wishing I was just silly and young again. I'm babbling (sorry) but I saw The Virgin Suicides and youth suddenly didn't seem so desirable. The film is not a great one but it does remind you of how confusing adolescence can be. What a pain in the ass it all was. How boredom can seem like a lifelong situation. How stifling it is to feel capable of making decisions and yet still be so dependent on others.

Most of this response was only indirectly tied to the film. The film is both accomplished and forgettable. There are some great images and vignettes. Indeed, the best thing about the film would be the semi-mysterious mood, the time and place that it captures and mostly sustains. There are also some strong performances. Kirsten Dunst, whom I have heretofore never been all that impressed with, really comes into her own and it's good to see Kathleen Turner actually act again. All in all its a film with splendid moments that never quite add up...the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts.

I feel a little sorry for Sofia Coppola. In the current climate of youth worship in the film world she has been placed upon a dangerously high pedestal. Yes, she can direct. But her auteur road will not be an easy one. This is a first film and so many superlatives have already come dashing her way. How can she possibly live up to critiques like "she may even surpass her father"? How hard will the fall be after the hype is over.

The same fate may await many of today's young stars. After all, historically speaking -just a handful of today's first timers are going to be around tomorrow. Adolescence, onscreen or off, is rough going.

-Nathaniel

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