Baby It's You (1983)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

I couldn't watch more than a half-hour of this movie! In the modern era of female equality, just about every scene raises the hackles! And to think these female victims (or dupes as portrayed!) are now the ones charging men with inappropriate sexual behaviour is beyond belief.

Director John Sayles also adapted this script (from Amy Robinson's story) about a youthful romance in the 1960s that takes several wrong turns. Vincent Spano's "Sheik" might have been a fun addition to any other nostalgic comedy-drama...strictly as a supporting character; forced into carrying most of the picture here, he overwhelms the proceedings, and Sayles is no help saturating the film with Spano's dumb-stud posturing and rude mouth. This not only pushes Rosanna Arquette away, but viewers as well. The period atmosphere is captured rather nicely, and Sayles is nimble in his dealings with the grown-ups of the piece (who are not painted in the usual broad strokes). However, "Baby It's You" is eventually too heavy as a comedy, with repetitive scenes and character-clashes awash in a kind of post-teenage sturm and drang that wears everybody down by the finish. *1/2 from ****

One of John Sayles's movies without a political theme -- and one of his only films made for a Hollywood studio -- focuses on the relationship between an honor student and a hoodlum in 1960s New Jersey. Jill Rosen (Rosanna Arquette) is getting primed to attend Sarah Lawrence College, while Albert "Sheik" Capadilupo (Vincent Spano) spends most of his time making trouble. At once a look at this romance and simultaneously a look at the changes in the United States in the late 1960s -- Jill is a totally changed person by the end of the movie -- "Baby It's You" is an almost mystifying movie. Jill and Sheik are opposites in practically every way: she is evolving with the changing times, while he can't stop thinking about Frank Sinatra. But either way, their relationship seems to be the only possible rite of passage for the two of them.I've never seen a John Sayles movie that I didn't like, and this is certainly a good one. More than just a nostalgia piece, it shows the effect that Sheik has on Jill, and what the two of them are forced to realize about their romance by the end of the movie. Definitely one that I recommend. Also starring Tracy Pollan (Michael J. Fox's wife) and Robert Downey Jr.

As the title says, this film is very moving, emotionally. So moving in fact, that it stayed with me for days after I saw it for the first time. Personally, I was initially sucked into this movie by the soundtrack. Some of the best songs from the mid-1960's are included in this picture. However, the soundtrack was not the only compelling aspect. This movie tended to be a lot more realistic than your average romantic film.This movie really allows the audience to ride the emotional roller-coaster right along with Jill (Rosanna Arquette) and Sheik (Vincent Spano), as they experience the peaks and valleys of first love. On top of that, the characters are very easy to relate to because we've all been there at one time or another with our own relationships. Although the movie is set in 1966-67, the underlying theme of the trials and tribulations of first love is something every generation can identify with.Although the storyline tends to slightly lose some steam after graduation, it gives the audience a chance to see life after high school for both Jill and Sheik, and how both of them deal with post-graduation life both together and separately. Even this part of movie (which I refer to as the second half) had some unexpected twists in store for the audience.Rosanna Arquette and Vincent Spano both turn in wonderful performances as the two lead characters. I honestly couldn't imagine the film with different actors playing those roles. The only thing I never understood was why the movie itself didn't get the push it so richly deserved, when it was initially released. It could have been a real sleeper hit, had it been promoted properly. However, that shouldn't take away from the overall quality of this film.