Delayed Reaction: The First Time

Premise: Two teens fall into a relationship quickly and hard.

 

This movie falls into such a sweet spot for me, that it's almost pointless for me to write anything about it. It's a flawed movie that I nonetheless enjoyed a lot. It's doesn't have the feel of a Sundance movie at all. It's more of a latter-day studio teen comedy - the kind studios hadn't been able to figure out since the early 2000's until Netflix cracked the code in the last couple years. It's got two attractive leads in Britt Robertson and Dylan O'Brien. The movie doesn't hit too hard on pretending they are social outcasts. O'Brien has spent too much time pursuing Victoria Justice, who has freindzoned him hard. Robertson has an older boyfriend already. OK, maybe it's a little hard to believe someone as chiseled as O'Brien would be friendzoned, but that's the only thing I have trouble believing. Otherwise, both leads feel like standard mid-to-upper popularity teens. They go to parties. They have no trouble gathering a group to go to the movies. The movie isn't asking me to believe too much.

 

The whole movie takes place over an impossibly long weekend (I think). Robertson and O'Brien have nice chemistry. They are typical high school movie teens. I'm rooting for them. The series of complications they work through are typical. The best and worst things about the movie happen back-to-back. I like the scene building up to them having sex. It's a horny scene. It captures their mix of hesitation and eagerness well. Movies don't typically build it up for that long. That was very effective. After they have sex though, their fallout makes very little sense. I get that they feel awkward, and it wasn't very good for either of them. The series of saying the wrong lines and overreactions felt very insincere though. Awkward silence would've been plenty.

 

For me, it does all come down to the casting of the central roles. If I like that, I'm going to like the movie. I'm a huge Britt Robertson fan and I have nothing against Dylan O'Brien. In balance, that's a net-plus. It was fun seeing Christine Taylor and Joshua Malina as Robertson's parents. Maggie Elizabeth Jones is cute as O'Brien's little sister. James Frecheville is appropriately insufferable as Robertson's boyfriend. I like that Victoria Justice* is more oblivious than villainous. I spent an enjoyable 95 minutes watching this. I have little to complain about.

 

*Am I the only one surprised that Victoria Justice hasn't had bigger opportunities? She is absurdly attractive. She has 16-years of experience, and the Nickelodeon/Disney Channel stars who stick with acting tend to turn into really good TV stars if nothing else. They have the timing and work ethic down. Justice has been much more of an actress than singer for the last several years. How much longer before she has a "calling card" movie or TV show in her grown-up filmography to point to? Or is she not a very good actress and I'm blinded by the fact that she's attractive? I really don't know.

 

Verdict: Weakly Recommend