Rich Licata

  • 31 October 2005

Just Looking (1999) Review

By Robert Marley

Excellent

Growing up can be difficult no matter what era you are from. Of course, how many of us have heard the old "when I was your age..." speech from someone older than you? But even though the years may move forward, the more things change, the more they can stay the same, as evidenced by this self-proclaimed "semi-autobiographical" look at growing up in the 50's, presented by screenwriter Marshall Karp.

Just Looking is the story of Leny (played perfectly by Ryan Merriman) who is a boy like any other 14 year old, curious about sex. So much so that his goal for the summer of 1955 is to see two people "engaged in the act of love" as he puts it. But his innocent curiosity ends up getting him caught and his mother (Patti LuPone) and stepfather decide to ship him off to "the country" (also known as the Bronx) where he meets a new set of friends who just happen to share a similar interest.

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