LITTLE GIRL GROWING UP: MAN ON THE MOON, MY GIRL
She has a crush on Jake (Griffin Dunne), an English teacher who's teaching a summer writing class, and she gets herself into the class. Like many a young movie hero or heroine, she dreams of being a writer. And when Shelly (Jamie Lee Curtis), a cosmetologist, pulls up in front of the house to ask for a job - even though she's not too fond of dead people either - Vada at first sees her as a friend. She's less friendly when Harry falls in love with Shelly. And then, like in THE MAN IN THE MOON, there's a tragic plot twist.
This is a more conventional story than THE MAN IN THE MOON, so it's not quite as affecting. The funeral home is a novel place to set a film, and the film's on pretty good ground there. When it wanders out, however, it's pretty uneven - the members of Vada's writing class, for example, seem like stock figures. There's a first kiss scene here as well, and while it's necessarily not as meaningful at 11 as a test as it is at 14 when it's for real, it's still pretty dull. And while Zieff and writer Laurice Elehwany handle their tough subject with sensitivity, they also let sentiment come in a little too often.
The performances are a mixed bag as well. Culkin, who is awfully bratty in the HOME ALONE films, is surprisingly good and restrained here. And while Dunne doesn't have a lot of scenes, he's not only convincing as the English teacher, but you can see how Vada might have a crush on him. On the other hand, while it's good Aykroyd doesn't rely on the schtick he can fall back on too often in comedies, he's pretty flat here; yes, he's playing a guy wrapped up in his work , but he falls back on stock gestures to do so (Aykroyd can be good in drama; his performance in DRIVING MISS DAISY is one of that film's few good parts). And I've always detected a whiff of condescension whenever Curtis plays a small-town type or is doing a family-friendly role, getting away from her strengths of raucous comedy (as in her best work like A FISH CALLED WANDA). The only time Aykroyd and Curtis work are when they're together, and they repeat their chemistry from TRADING PLACES.
Still, a coming-of-age film, no matter how hokey, can often be redeemed
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