My First Mister
Meet The New Odd Couple.
Jennifer (LeeLee Sobieski) is a 17-year-old Goth with multiple face-piercings and a fondness for graveyards. Randall (Albert Brooks) is a middle-aged salesman with an obsessively tidy life and a fear of anything new. When these two opposites collide, the chain reaction sparks a life-altering meltdown for them both in this wickedly perceptive, critically acclaimed comedy from Academy Award-winning director and actress Christine Lahti.
Desperate to escape the world of her infuriatingly cheery mother (Carol Kane) and mindless bimbo classmates, punk-rebel Jennifer impulsively applies for a job at Randall's decidedly conservative clothing store. Soon, to their mutual shock and surprise, an unlikely friendship blooms. But even as Randall attempts to show Jennifer the possibilities of her own future, Jennifer discovers the extraordinary secret haunting Randall's past. A wry, hilarious, powerfully emotional story of reaching out, making contact, and coping with the consequences, My First Mister is an unforgettable film Leonard Maltin applauds as "Wonderful and unpredictable!"
Member Reviews
All the special "F" words - luminol
I never bothered to see this before because the title scared me off: "My first mister" This implied some lame teen coming of age/kill the virgin/chick flick comedy. Thankfully, this was not the case. And formulaic is not a word you'd use to describe this film.
Leelee Sobieski is Jay, the lone misfit goth girl in the school and just slightly miscast. I was conscious of their attempts to deglamorize her, which is a difficult task: how do you hide the intelligence and smoulder of those legendary Sobieski eyes?
Jay comes out of her blacked shell after being hired on as a storeroom clerk in a clothing store, since scaring away the customers isn't part of her job description, her continued employment requires her dressing in neutral, shopping mall couture and no sudden moves around the customers. She spots a kindred spirit in Randall, the store manager (an understated Albert Brooks). The film then moves onto the impossibility of a relationship between them, but they keep working on it despite the monumental fails to eventually compromise and create a genuine bond between them.
This was Christian Lahti's first feature film effort. Obviously, she has a wealth of acting experience to drawn on; the surprise here was she also has the visual storytelling part also---the scene when Jay and Randall first meet elicits an immediate smile. The only thing horrible about this film is the title.Quirky Pablum - Nik-
What starts off as an entertaining and odd film becomes maudlin, overly sentimental garbage. I watched the first half hour, completely interested -- even if J is a stereotypical goth loner and almost entirely unbelievable.
Then the soundtrack started gratring on my nerves. Violins kept swelling to the bursting point. And then the surest sign that a movie is a failure hit me. I could hear the pitch that sold it.
"Okay, Marty, just picture it -- 'Ghost World' meets 'American Beauty'. Ya see? He's old, she's young -- it's the opposite of 'Harold and Maude', only less dark, more friendly."
As if to confirm that the film is bad, it used its title as the sentimental peak -- "My First Mister" -- as J sobs and tears run down her face. Because life is so hard and so beautiful and so boring when presented in a commercial movie trying to pass as indie and raw.
Plus, does it make sense that her awful, angsty poems at the beginning are meant to be taken seriously at the end?
If you need more convincing this movie is bad -- it's about an unusual girl learning that normal is okay, and she sheds everything that's interesting about her and becomes just like everyone else -- braindead and sentimental and shallow and dull.One of my favourites - Zipped
I have seen this movie three times and every time it moves me to laugh out loud and to shed a few tears. Albert Brooks has never been so likeable as Randal and J is the perfect confused, pissed off, dark teenage girl/woman. Her mother's bubbly efforts to engage J are painful to watch but bang on in a movie about family love. The first scenes between J and Randall are laugh outloud as he tries to navigate the darkness of her world and she fantacizes about sex with an older man. This movie is a perfect vehicle for popping the myth bubble of a perfect family - no body is perfect but their imperfections are what draws them togetehr. What is left is hope and warmth and eight people who have been touched for a lifetime. I just love this movie.
Member Reviews
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All the special "F" words - luminol
I never bothered to see this before because the title scared me off: "My first mister" This implied some lame teen coming of age/kill the virgin/chick flick comedy. Thankfully, this was not the case. And formulaic is not a word you'd use to describe this ...Quirky Pablum - Nik-
What starts off as an entertaining and odd film becomes maudlin, overly sentimental garbage. I watched the first half hour, completely interested -- even if J is a stereotypical goth loner and almost entirely unbelievable.
Then the soundtrack started ...One of my favourites - Zipped
I have seen this movie three times and every time it moves me to laugh out loud and to shed a few tears. Albert Brooks has never been so likeable as Randal and J is the perfect confused, pissed off, dark teenage girl/woman. Her mother's bubbly efforts to engage ...