Review of A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988) by Kate . — 16 Sep 2008

17 year old Jimmy Reardon is infamous among the girls in his posh neighbourhood for being something of a ladies man, even his girlfriend knows about his conquests. Under pressure from his Father to go to a business college, he decides to rebel against his circumstances, but ultimately comes to realise that they are in fact exactly what he needs to respect.

Written and directed by William Richert, 'A Night In The Life Of Jimmy Reardon' is a simplistic teen comedy-drama that doesn't score high for originality or authenticity. Having said this, it is still an easy film to watch and is in no way disappointing.

The text seems to set itself an average standard and achieves this quite perfectly. The late River Phoenix plays the eponymous lead character. He is believable due to his charm and good looks, but he seems to be lacking a certain sinister form of conviction, which made me think 'He's just to nice a person to cheat on his girlfriend'.

This may be naive on my part, but Phoenix's gentility in the execution of the character makes him to likeable; which I suppose isn't a fault, but at the same time it is; he makes what should really be a rather cold character to warm and moral.

The rest of the cast perform well enough, and it's funny watching a very young Matthew Perry practically playing Chandler all over again. With it's lively and pretty racy plot-line and handsome lead, 'A Night In The Life Of Jimmy Reardon' is a harmless teen drama that will most likely appeal to fans of River Phoenix.

Not bad.