“Because the band does not have fun there!”

I remember being deeply and emotionally moved by this film (I know that’s a-lot-o-adverbs. Sometimes you gotta).

There is so much to this movie that the effect it has had on me as a viewer has lasted my lifetime presently. I do get pulled into movies a little too much maybe, but there will be no changing that.

Foremost, it is about a character that I relate to more than any other story or movie that I have ever heard, read or seen. He is a young sophomore in high school that meets the new girl in town on summer break and is immediately drawn to her (both visually and eventually interpersonally as well). He has the best summer of his life so far, hanging out with her…and then…school starts; things change.

“Lucas” is short, he wears very thick glasses, is the smartest kid in school (probably the town), is a member of the high school band, and is about to learn that you cannot control who you love; and those that do not love you back.

On summer break, Lucas is Maggie’s best friend. She is a new girl in a small town and he is her only friend for a couple of reasons: 1) Lucas is a loner and he allows her to participate in his world, which has only room for two that summer. 2) Spending all of your time with a loner does not expose you to more people to meet. That is why when school starts, Maggie is able to branch out and immediately join clubs and meet people that are closer to her “clique”.

There was not a greater time for the perfect casting of Kerri Green as Maggie. She was fresh off her role as Andy from “The Goonies.” Having watched that and developed a decent crush on her, I crushed major–just like Lucas–when I watched this film. If she could kiss Mikey and his braces, why couldn’t she kiss Lucas? If she could kiss a guy like Lucas (she doesn’t, I was just hoping), then she could totally kiss me…right?

Anyways….

Great casting.

As school continues, Maggie is exposed to all of the different clubs (cheerleading, football, etc.) and meets Lucas‘ older brother figure, Cappie (captain of the football team). We learn that Lucas–just because he is a good person–had helped Cappie pass a difficult class a while back. Cappie has returned the favor by watching out for him (with school bullies) and by being a rare social presence in Lucas‘ life.

After making the cheer team and spending time with Cappie, of course Maggie starts to fall for the handsome jock, much to the chagrin of Lucas (AND ME QUITE FRANKLY!).

I don’t think that this film has become a cult classic or has been viewed by many people out of the “Growing Up 80s” era. So I am going to contain myself from giving away more of the story and encourage others to watch it. I will say you will see a very young Charlie Sheen as Cappie and Wynona Ryder makes her first appearance on film, I believe, as well.

Where you will see the movie, I do not know. I don’t think you can stream it anywhere and rental stores are hard to find these days. I will probably have to buy it to see it again. Worth it to me, probably not you.

The important thing I gathered from this film is that it is not always about winning, but learning from your experiences (the bad ones mostly). They help you grow and hopefully help you make better choices.

I’m still learning.