Christina Reviews *Now and Then*

            Now and Then is basically a rip-off of Stand By Me.  I suppose it’s only fair.  Why should boys be the only ones to get their buddy bonding movie.

            The only problem is that Now and Then sucks.

            OK, maybe that's a bit harsh.  It was watchable.  I would rate it three stars because I have good memories from middle school.

           The movie begins with narrator Samantha (aka Gordy) returning home to visit with her friends after learning that Chrissy (the chubby outcast friend, aka Vern) is having her first baby.  The friends get together and reminisce about the summer when they were 12. That was “the” summer of their childhood lives.  During that summer they not only managed to save up enough money to buy a treehouse, but Sam’s parents got divorced, Roberta got her first kiss, Teeny watched her friend nearly drown to death in a sewer and Chrissy learned that sex is when a man waters a woman’s garden.  Oh yeah, and it was the summer they resurrected a dead boy from the grave.
           Brendan Frasier makes a brief appearance as a Vietnam soldier.   He’s talking with the girls, and one of the girls mentions how you can’t seem to depend on anyone.  And Frasier’s character says something along the lines of, “You can depend on yourself.  If you’re lucky.”  I loved that quote.

           And it’s always emotionally affecting to watch a girl nearly drown in a sewer while her best friend screams for help with mournful music playing in the background.  And then the town outcast comes along to save the day.  Brilliant.

           The childhood scenes were decent.  But the scenes where they're all grown up were obnoxious.