COMING-OF-AGE MOVIES ARE LABOR OF LOVE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 5, 1993                   TAG: 9302050097
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Chris Gladden
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
COMING-OF-AGE MOVIES ARE LABOR OF LOVE
Few movies can muster as much charm as the coming-of-age story when it's done right. These movies generally are set in the past, and they can take filmmakers and their contemporaries in the audience to a place otherwise denied them: their youth.
At their best, coming-of-age movies are rich in period detail and honest sentimentality. That's because they're often a labor of love.
So it is with "Matinee," the delightful picture about a monster-movie fan who not only gets to meet his idol and experiences his first taste of romance with the school's pretty bohemian rebel. The picture is set in 1962, and director Joe Dante infuses it with references to the kind of horror movies he grew up watching.
The heroes in coming-of-age movies inhabit that turbulent period between childhood and adulthood. At no other time are we so acutely aware of and concerned with the trappings of popular culture. Music is critical to our lives, we're judged by the clothes we wear, and our slang and automotive preferences are keys to the groups we belong to. Such details add to the charm of coming-of-age movies.
George Lucas made his reputation with "American Graffiti," a classic of the genre. It, too, was set in '62. Lucas's eye for the street rods, his ear for the songs of his youth, and his sensitivity to the universal growing pains of adolescence made it a huge box office hit. Rob Reiner's "Stand By Me" was absolutely spooky in its accurate depiction of kid life in the 1950s.
Coming-of-age movies know no borders. We have "Cinema Paradiso" and "Amarcord" from Italy, "My Life as a Dog" from Sweden, "My Mother's Castle" from France and "Hope and Glory" from England.
Some are regrettable, such as the tasteless "Porky's" series. Others are unfairly overlooked, such as "Our Winning Season," an engaging movie set against the world of high school track in the 1960s.
Even the funniest ones have a bittersweet quality. Youth is something that can never be regained, and it is doubtful that anyone survives the teen years without some sort of trauma. But some coming-of-age movies such as "The Last Picture Show" and "Summer of '42" are downright melancholy and all the more haunting for it.
Not surprisingly, the small-town theater plays an important part in several of these movies. "Matinee," "The Last Picture Show," "Cinema Paradiso" and "Gas, Food, Lodging" are just a few that pay tribute to the movie house. And we haven't even mentioned the drive-in.
Coming-of-age movies will endure as long as filmmakers value their youth. So, 30 years from now expect a movie that looks back fondly on the old neighborhood multiplex, tunes by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and first love during the Clinton years.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB