Love at First Hiccup (2009)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Brilliant and touching

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Being Danish and having grown up with the original version, which was very popular at a time, I was kind of looking forward to this American version, as they tend to be a lot better than the movies produced in Denmark. But after seeing it, the only thing a felt was disappointment. The characters seemed to young and it just didn't seem to have the same wow-effect as the one I remembered from the Danish version. Basically everything about this movie seemed wrong, besides the young age of the characters, everything you love about them has been changed. Any a is not the same confident girl that I expected and victors brother, just seem vulgar instead of somewhat charming and so on. Just the Small things that made the original movie great, has been changed in a way that do not work very well. This was a big let down.

I basically found this film channel surfing, and much to my surprise liked it. Is this an Oscar winner? Not even close. But it is an intelligent teen comedy, with real people (Not moronic parents ((n particular, Ray Wise, the father of Anja(Scout Taylor- Compton)), and it has the understanding that teens will sleep together, but just because they do, does not have to mean multiple partners, or pregnancy. It is about Sophomore Victor who loves Senior Anja who is without question out of his league. She is basically above him in popularity and class status, and it is not even close. But Victor is someone who someone who treats her with friendship, and decency, and ends up winning her heart (There is one scene where he takes her on a romantic boat ride, complete with old fashioned music (My gut tells me her dad paid for it, because he taken the time to know his daughter so well (her likes and dislikes), he feels Victor would be ideal for her). I like the part (Spoilers) where her father asks him about if he carries a rubber and instead of going crazy, respects his honesty, and the fact that he does, and the father explains what it is like trying to win an older girl (Anja's mom), and what must be done to not only accomplish it, but make it work. In the end, they do end up sleeping together (The first time either sleeps with anyone), but it is a lot more than "Puppy Love." It is strongly suggested that these two are each other's soul mate, and will remain together, despite the difficulties they will face going forward (Particularly Anja assuming she goes to college, and is known to be dating a high school student). But, the fact it is remake of a Danish film, where they get married in a sequel is additional evidence that they make it work. It is better than one might think. 9/10 stars

The best thing about Love at First Hiccup (also titled as The First Time) is that anyone who appreciates good movies will know within the first five minutes that it's a terrible movie. Unlike an indie film which might take you a half an hour before to realize it's not worth watching, Hiccup/First Time lays its cards on the table right away with shallow characters, lousy dialog, and horrible jokes.Hiccup/First Time has the acting quality and production values of a movie made for Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel. It might seem that this was the film's target market except Hiccup/First Time has a sprinkling of crass lines and R rated language which seem particularly stupid in a movie that's less entertaining than an episode of iCarly.The one bright spot in Hiccup/First Time is Ray Wise whose performance as the father of the main character's object of desire is excellent. Wise provides the only moments worth smiling at. But Wise's very small role can't help a film which is mostly obvious, boring, or makes you embarrassed to be part of the same species that would make a movie like Hiccup/First Time.

Love at First Hiccup a truly a harmless and enjoyable film. The cast is lively, the script hits almost all the right notes, and the plot works for the most part, though sometimes becoming hokey and unbelievable. For a Direct-to-DVD underdog, it isn't half bad. And sometimes, that's all that can be said.Devon Werkheiser is the lead, who is most famous for his role as Ned Bigby in Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. That was a show about guiding someone through middle school. Love at First Hiccup could work as the R rated film as Ned in high school falling in love with a girl who is out of his league. The only thing it is missing is the so-called "tips" from the Television series.The series wasn't bad, but it surely wasn't as good as Drake and Josh or Zoey 101. The big problem being the realism of it. The show's goal was to try and get the viewer through a day of middle school, avoiding as many problems and brick-walls as possible. Most of the time, the characters weren't in class and did things real people couldn't do (IE: Ned had a friend that periodically came up with weird, cockamamie technology creations). Other problems sometimes stemmed from the tip themselves. I'll never forget one episode where Ned continues to get "pants-ed" at school, and at one point tells the viewer "If you don't like getting pants-ed, try wearing a janitor's outfit." This caused me to think "is this show one complete joke?" The word of advice was used as an actual tip, but who in their right mind would come to school wearing a one-piece janitor's outfit? From there on out, I also imagined the characters had a certain smugness when giving out these "helpful" tips.As for Love at First Hiccup, it plays like a raunchy, R rated Nickelodeon film. If you were to modify various four letter words into something of a family nature, took out sex dialog, and made the plot about getting a first date or a first kiss rather than the first time our character and another girl hit the bed than this could've truly been a PG rated film for the kiddies. Even the production qualities are no better than say Fred: The Movie or Gym Teacher: The Movie, other Nickelodeon-produced films.The story concerns an early Freshman named Victor (Werkheiser) who, in his third day of school, immediately eyes and falls in lust with a Senior named Anya (Taylor-Compton) who is vastly out of his league. She, of course, has a boyfriend who drives a nice muscle guy, and persuades her to let him take her virginity before graduation. Victor hates the boyfriend, and wants Anya to be his first so they both can share the same experience.Premise wise, the film is cute and plucky while silently incorporating an unexpected raunch-element. This sort of reminds me of College, which starred Nickelodeon-raised actor Drake Bell. It was strange to see him out of the Nickelodeon setting, and free to say whatever he pleased. Frequently, he dropped the f word, and the same thing goes with Werkheiser in this film. It's not bad, but it takes some definite getting used to. I would've loved it if the character Victor took a minute to break the fourth wall and say something like "If you want to get in a girl's pants, don't forget to wear a condom." The story's subplot is that Anya's younger brother and Victor's younger brother are good friends, and are in cahoots to make a film banking off of Victor's desperate attempts to sleep with Anya. It's cute, but stretched to the furthest length of plausibility. Same goes with Anya and Victor's relationship. It's so odd to see a Senior so inviting to this dorky Freshman. Maybe four years of high school taught patience, but the believability is low when you see her tolerance is high.We also never hear too much from either side's friends. We see Victor's two dweeby pals, and we see one or two of Anya's girlfriends, but none of them ever greatly effect their decision-making. The character development for both leads is nice, but it's strange we don't get friendly advice anywhere in the film.There is very little to complain about with Love at First Hiccup, accept granted it does have some minor realism problems. It's a cute, coming of age comedy-drama, and that's good enough. It's blatant because of its lead character's ambition to have sex at a young age, and on that note, it can be relatable for some people going through that phase. I also think this should get some hefty bonus points for being a watchable and recommendable Direct-to-DVD film. You rarely get too many of those.Starring: Devon Werkheisher and Scout Taylor-Compton. Directed by: Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg.