Winter Spring Summer or Fall: A romantic charmer

Winter Spring Summer or Fall (2024) • View trailer

3.5 stars (out of five). Rated R, for teen drug and alcohol use, and brief profanity

Available via: Amazon Prime and other VOD options

By Derrick Bang • Published in The Davis Enterprise, 8.31.25

Ever since writer John Hughes started what became a popular sub-genre with Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful, back in the late 1980s, one or two similarly witty, dialogue-heavy and sharply observed young romance films — blessed with similarly charismatic stars — have arrived every decade.

 

After initially failing to click, Remi (Jenna Ortega) and Barnes (Percy Hynes White)
gradually begin to enjoy each other's company. But can their relationship survive two
divergent career paths?

Before Sunrise (and its two sequels) and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist immediately spring to mind.

This one belongs in their company.

 

Dan Schoffer’s cleverly structured narrative — which owes a nod to Alan Alda’s The Four Seasons — is matched by Tiffany Paulsen’s noteworthy feature directorial debut. Her touch is just right with each character, although she’s fortunate that stars Jenna Ortega and Percy Hynes White already share combustible chemistry. 

 

Although films of this sort are by nature fantasies, they work when we become invested in the characters; that happens quickly here.

 

(Fair warning: Viewers inclined toward cynical smirks and rolled eyes are advised to seek their pleasure elsewhere.)

 

High School senior Barnes Hawthorne (Hynes White) spots Remi Aguilar (Ortega) one winter day, while visiting his friend P.J. (Elias Kacavas), who lives across the street from her. P.J. explains that the young woman is super-smart, and has just completed a Google Fellowship interview. Barnes’ expression is thoughtful, his gaze intrigued.

 

Later that day, Barnes and Remi wind up on the same train; he’s attending a concert in New York, and she has an appointment to tour Columbia University. After some initial awkwardness — “I’m not a stalker,” he somewhat ineptly insists — they begin chatting, and share plans following their completion of high school. She intends to attend Harvard and become a lawyer, like her parents; he desires an unspecified gap year.

 

Little realizing that it makes her sound pushy, Remi suggests that he could use the time productively, by volunteering with sea turtles or working with a music group. (She comes by this behavior naturally, as we’ll discover after spending some time with her parents.) Barnes, sensing things aren’t working, counters by extoling the virtues of David Byrne and the Talking Heads.

 

Despite some mildly graceless conversational misfires, Barnes keeps trying. Alas, matters take an unfortunate turn after they disembark, and the already weak connection is severed.

 

My Old Ass: Poignant and deeply personal

My Old Ass (2024) • View trailer

Four stars (out of five). Rated R, for drug use, sexual candor and frequent profanity

Available via: Movie theaters

By Derrick Bang • Published in The Davis Enterprise, 9.22.24

Canadian writer/director Megan Park’s new film is one of the summer’s sweetest surprises: a deeply moving, intimately emotional, and tartly humorous coming-of-age saga ... but not in the way you’d expect.

 

Although Elliott (Maisy Stella, left) doesn't initially believe that a mysterious newcomer
(Aubrey Plaza) is her older self, doubts are erased quickly ... which opens the door to
all manner of questions.

Park’s nuanced skill with interpersonal relationships is impressive. Every one of the nine key characters is well sculpted, and persuasive played by a roster of mostly unknown talent. Her unerring ear for dialogue is equally superb; no wrong notes are hit during the many relaxed chats, confessions and ruminations. The goofy, flirty and often profane banter, between the teenage protagonist and her friends, feels just as natural.

The crucial message — so simple, yet profound — is that life is full of change. We need to cherish every moment, because one never knows if it might be the last time in that place, or with those people, or enjoying a particular activity.

 

We’ve all thought it: If I knew then, what I know now, I’d have paid more attention.

 

All this said, Park presents this moral in a most unusual manner.

 

The time is present day, the setting Canada’s gorgeous Muskoka Lakes region, near the southern tip of Ontario, 140 miles above Toronto. The place practically screams youthful innocence; cinematographer Kristen Correll’s gorgeous tableaus could be framed and hung in prestigious museums.

 

Free-spirited Elliott (Maisy Stella), two weeks away from heading off to university, is making the most of each day with besties Ruthie (Maddie Ziegler) and Ro (Kerrice Brooks). They’re introduced in a small outboard boat, as Elliott motors them to a remote island, where she intends to celebrate her 18th birthday by tripping on mushrooms with them, and spending the night at their improvised campsite.

 

By doing so, she has blown off dinner with her family: her father Tom (Alain Goulem), mother Kathy (Maria Dizzia) and younger brothers Max (Seth Isaac Johnson) and Spencer (Carter Trozzolo). The family tableau is quietly awkward; they even baked a cake, which Spencer took pains to decorate.

 

(Elliott later insists that she informed her mother of these plans, and Kathy graciously acknowledges that may have been the case ... but it’s far more likely that the girl gave no thought to how her family might wish to celebrate her birthday with her.)