THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 22, 1995 TAG: 9510200075
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
``NOW AND THEN'' is more then than now as it journeys back to the growing-up years of four small-town women who wonder how they got the way they are. It is ``Stand by Me'' for girls - the latest in a growing genre of female-bonding films that defy the industry's stance that only coming-of-age films about boys find an audience.
``Now and Then,'' co-produced by megastar Demi Moore, is a good deal more fun than the teary melodrama of ``How to Build an American Quilt,'' a lot less confusing than ``The Joy Luck Club'' and more level-headed and believable than ``The Baby-Sitters Club.''
The setting is the summer of 1970 and, just to prove it, there are five No. 1 tunes from the era from Diana Ross, The Archies, Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Monkees and The Jackson 5.
The four well-known actresses who might draw in an audience are actually supporting players to their younger counterparts.
Gaby Hoffman and Demi Moore play Samantha, the one who becomes a writer and the first girl on the block whose parents divorced. Samantha is the semi-narrator and is obviously the voice of screenwriter I. Marlene King, who created this script from her memories of being 12 years old in Indiana. Hoffman, incidentally, is the daughter of one-time Andy Warhol superstar Viva.
Christina Ricci and Rosie O'Donnell play Roberta, the tomboy. Director Lesli Linka Glatter, making her feature-film debut after TV outings, has restrained the usually abrasive O'Donnell. It's difficult to believe that the petite Ricci could grow up to become O'Donnell, but the gene-stretching here is not nearly as absurd as in ``Joy Luck Club'' and ``American Quilt.'' For the most part, the adults look as if they could have come from these 12-year-olds.
Ricci, or course, was in the hit ``Casper'' this year and was a stand-out in ``The Addams Family'' films. She is losing some of that comic-seriousness as she is required to become more extroverted. It's too bad. Here, she's such a tomboy that she tapes her breasts in an effort to keep them from growing.
Rita Wilson (Mrs. Tom Hanks) and Ashleigh Aston Moore play Chrissy, the prude of the group. She's afraid that even the most distant relationship with a boy would get her pregnant. Moore turns in the best performance among the youngsters as a refreshingly sympathetic underdog.
Melanie Griffith and Thora Birch play Teeny, who wants fame and fortune. Teeny, at 12, is already practicing her Academy Award acceptance speech. It is entirely believable that the precocious and flirtatious Birch could grow up to be Melanie Griffith. In fact, we expect her to in real life.
Cloris Leachman, the Oscar winner for ``The Last Picture Show,'' is a grandmother who might hold the key to an old-town mystery. Lolita Davidovich is Samantha's still-sexy mother.
``Now and Then'' is rather obvious and predictable about its girls but it is thoroughly likable. There is a sensible balance between girlish wonder and the sense of impending adulthood. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``Now and Then''
Cast: Demi Moore, Gaby Hoffmann, Melanie Griffith, Thora Birch,
Rosie O'Donnell, Christina Ricci, Rita Wilson, Ashleigh Aston Moore,
Cloris Leachman, Lolita Davidovitch, Brendan Fraser
Director: Lesli Linka Glatter
MPAA rating: PG-13 (mild language and sexual content)
Mal's rating: Three stars
Locations: Greenbrier in Chesapeake; Main Gate in Norfolk;
Lynnhaven 8, Pembroke and Surf-n-Sand in Virginia Beach.
by CNB