Those 80s films. The edgy without being too raunchy comedies, the romances with the great soundtracks. So many memorable ones. Baby Its You an early 80s offering that somehow eluded me, until today. The time frame was right in the wheelhouse of my fleeting youth. The stars, likable enough. So off we went...
Where to begin? Spano is an attractive guy who's serviceable as an actor. And Arquette, she is a decent actress, not great - but she, to her credit, had that "it" quality, that something extra that always elevated her to the next level. She's one of those actresses who had a presence that drew you in and held you - normally. So where did this one go so very, very wrong?
First, the soundtrack is memorable enough. The setting is 1966, and most of the music reflects this. Most, I say, because someone involved with this one was obviously a big Springsteen fan. So suddenly 2 or 3 of his songs pop up, songs that weren't released until several years after the film's '66 setting. Just a minor quibble, compared to what lies ahead.
The emphasis of "Baby" revolves so much around the two leads that everyone else seems like a thrown in prop. No other character is really developed beyond being added for a scene or two, and with zero substance. But this doesn't begin to touch on the missteps here.
If you're going to have such a heavy focus on the two leads, they better be able to carry a film. That is only going to happen with {1} likable characters, and {2} great chemistry. Its evident right from the go that this one is going for the good girl/guy from wrong side of the tracks mix we've seen so many times before. Spano's "Sheik" {yes, really} is not even good at being bad. He's just a hot mess, all over the map emotionally. Nothing about him is remotely likable. This results in Arquette's Jill being a bundle of lost confusion. Her choices, her reactions to his latest misstep, are even more befuddling than what he did to cause it. None of her decisions follow any path of sane logic. So the chemistry between the two leads is literally non-existent.
As this one rolls along, and "Sheik" starts breaking down, defying school rules and authority {apparently because he can}, pulling a gun for no apparent reason, robbing a convenience store - or something - you're soon going to be wondering where its all headed, and more likely, how much longer you'll have to endure this wreck.
Maybe "Sheik" and Jill could have made this film work, if they had something/anything to work with. The writing is awful, the dialogue is often agonizing, the pacing all wrong, the characters {all of them} as dull as baked dirt, every one as directionless as you'll at some point realize this entire flick to be.
One quick example: "Sheik" during one of his aimless rants proclaims {not verbatim, don't hold it against me}, "There are only three things - God, Sinatra, and me!" And, well, that's as much of God as you'll ever see indicated in his life, in any shape or form.
As for the ending? There's really only two possible tracks for something this unimaginative {no, not that they wind up together, or don't}. I wont give it away - not that there's much to give - but if you make it until the end, chances are you'll be left shaking your head, wondering what you just witnessed. Even more, you're going to want those two hours back.
Oh, that one purpose I mentioned at the top? "Baby" should serve as a caution to any girl out there who thinks a bad boy is the way to go, as well as to any guy who wants to take that path to have his desires fulfilled: Just -- don't. Because its never going to lead to "happily ever after" - even if these writers here were far too clueless to even figure that much out.
But if you're one of those folks who's traveled this road in life and wound up in a destructive relationship, only to see it dissolve, or worse yet, are still entrenched in it, then maybe this one's for you.
Where to begin? Spano is an attractive guy who's serviceable as an actor. And Arquette, she is a decent actress, not great - but she, to her credit, had that "it" quality, that something extra that always elevated her to the next level. She's one of those actresses who had a presence that drew you in and held you - normally. So where did this one go so very, very wrong?
First, the soundtrack is memorable enough. The setting is 1966, and most of the music reflects this. Most, I say, because someone involved with this one was obviously a big Springsteen fan. So suddenly 2 or 3 of his songs pop up, songs that weren't released until several years after the film's '66 setting. Just a minor quibble, compared to what lies ahead.
The emphasis of "Baby" revolves so much around the two leads that everyone else seems like a thrown in prop. No other character is really developed beyond being added for a scene or two, and with zero substance. But this doesn't begin to touch on the missteps here.
If you're going to have such a heavy focus on the two leads, they better be able to carry a film. That is only going to happen with {1} likable characters, and {2} great chemistry. Its evident right from the go that this one is going for the good girl/guy from wrong side of the tracks mix we've seen so many times before. Spano's "Sheik" {yes, really} is not even good at being bad. He's just a hot mess, all over the map emotionally. Nothing about him is remotely likable. This results in Arquette's Jill being a bundle of lost confusion. Her choices, her reactions to his latest misstep, are even more befuddling than what he did to cause it. None of her decisions follow any path of sane logic. So the chemistry between the two leads is literally non-existent.
As this one rolls along, and "Sheik" starts breaking down, defying school rules and authority {apparently because he can}, pulling a gun for no apparent reason, robbing a convenience store - or something - you're soon going to be wondering where its all headed, and more likely, how much longer you'll have to endure this wreck.
Maybe "Sheik" and Jill could have made this film work, if they had something/anything to work with. The writing is awful, the dialogue is often agonizing, the pacing all wrong, the characters {all of them} as dull as baked dirt, every one as directionless as you'll at some point realize this entire flick to be.
One quick example: "Sheik" during one of his aimless rants proclaims {not verbatim, don't hold it against me}, "There are only three things - God, Sinatra, and me!" And, well, that's as much of God as you'll ever see indicated in his life, in any shape or form.
As for the ending? There's really only two possible tracks for something this unimaginative {no, not that they wind up together, or don't}. I wont give it away - not that there's much to give - but if you make it until the end, chances are you'll be left shaking your head, wondering what you just witnessed. Even more, you're going to want those two hours back.
Oh, that one purpose I mentioned at the top? "Baby" should serve as a caution to any girl out there who thinks a bad boy is the way to go, as well as to any guy who wants to take that path to have his desires fulfilled: Just -- don't. Because its never going to lead to "happily ever after" - even if these writers here were far too clueless to even figure that much out.
But if you're one of those folks who's traveled this road in life and wound up in a destructive relationship, only to see it dissolve, or worse yet, are still entrenched in it, then maybe this one's for you.