Library & Information Science, Course 262: Resources for Young Adults.
Dr. David Loertscher
Spring, 1999

w9f.html

From the San Jose Mercury News at http://www.justgo.com/bayarea

Posted at 9:40 p.m. PDT Tuesday, April 13, 1999

NOTICE ANYTHING different at the movies lately? Like, say, the fact that the popcorn seems to be older than the new batch of stars?

Neve and Love? Reese and Rose? Brandy and some guy named Van Der Beek? Anyone over 30 would flunk a pop quiz on the names of these actors.

In fact, unless you watch The WB or read Teen People, you may not know who Neve Campbell, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Reese Witherspoon, Rose McGowan, Brandy and James Van Der Beek are.

And you may have no desire to see them in movies where the big showdown takes place beside a school locker, or the pivotal plot point is getting a prom date.

If so, plan on renting a lot of videos this summer. Teens have taken over the cineplex, at least for the immediate future. Why? Because Hollywood has a major crush on this free-spending demographic.

For confirmation, look at what's playing at local theaters. ``10 Things I Hate About You'' is a Shakespeare-tinged comedy set at Padua High. ``Go'' brings Tarantino-esque comedy and violence to the under-20 set. ``Never Been Kissed'' has Drew Barrymore, one of the older characters in the movie, as a reporter who pretends to be a teen girl.

Next up is ``Election'' (tentative opening date: April 23 or May 7), which pits Reese Witherspoon against teacher Matthew Broderick in a race for class officer. And this is just the start. From now until the serious fall season arrives, the wave of teen flicks is going to resemble a monsoon. Upcoming releases range from a youthful Watergate comedy (``Dick'') to a desperate attempt by two kids to reach a Kiss concert (``Detroit Rock City'').

Like nose rings and Marilyn Manson, teen movies are a fad, but one dictated by some very lucrative economics. Ever since ``Scream'' broke the $100 million mark in 1997, Hollywood has been paying attention to young ticket buyers who tend to consume films the way they do french fries: fast and furiously.

Since teen movies don't cost that much to make, they can generate tremendous profits from small budgets. ``She's All That,'' the pleasant ``Pygmalion'' rehash, cost about $8 million and wound up earning $60 million. Similarly, ``Varsity Blues,'' a modest football drama starring James Van Der Beek of ``Dawson's Creek,'' raked in $52 million.

``From Hollywood's perspective, you have to look at it economically,'' says Jonathan Bernstein, author of ``Pretty in Pink: The Golden Age of Teenage Movies,'' which covers the 1980s. ``James Van Der Beek got $150,000 or so to star in `Varsity Blues,' and John Travolta got $20 million to star in `A Civil Action,' and they both made the same amount of money.''

Bernstein doesn't admire the new teen movies he's seen. He describes them as stale copies of the movies John Hughes was making 20 years ago, films like ``The Breakfast Club.''

``I sort of think the best teen movies now are being made on TV,'' he says. ``An episode of `Buffy, the Vampire Slayer' stacks up pretty well against anything at the multiplex.''

Which leads us to the next factor in the teen-flick equation: cheap labor. TV shows such as The WB's ``Buffy'' and ``Dawson's Creek'' and Fox's ``Party of Five'' have bred a new crop of young actors eager to break into films. They can't guarantee a film is going to be a hit the way Mel Gibson can, but their paychecks are a lot more reasonable.

For instance, ``Go,'' which cost less than $10 million to make, features rising stars such as Scott Wolf of ``Party of Five,'' Katie Holmes of ``Dawson's Creek'' and Sarah Polley of ``The Sweet Hereafter.''

``We don't have any million-dollar actors in our movie; so every penny wound up on screen,'' says John August, who wrote the ``Go'' script.

August attributes some of the flood of teen movies to Hollywood's tendency to overdo a good thing. It happened after the ``Scream'' phenomenon, when studios jumped on the horror bandwagon with diminishing box-office success. Now it's happening with romantic comedies, which are popping up with increasing regularity.

``There's a batch of comedies now, and there's going to be too many of them,'' says August. ``They can cut good commercials for them, but a lot of them are crap.''

Young audiences aren't looking for dumb, racy comedies anymore, not with the sexual innuendo that's available on cable and network television. In the '90s, a sniggering series like ``Porky's'' would be outdated. To seem naughty now, a movie has to be smart and racy, like ``Cruel Intentions,'' in which sweet, PG-looking actors mouth sarcastic, sophisticated dialogue that skirts awfully close to NC-17 content.

Where ``Cruel Intentions'' was all about titillation, ``Go'' is darkly inventive. It follows three groups of characters through a dangerous night of selling drugs, getting wild in Las Vegas and going undercover in a sting operation, generating laughs and suspense by pushing the envelope for teen comedy in a bleak, new direction.

``Go'' screenwriter August says his job is to get the message out that his movie is different. ``Because of our cast, we're going to be put in that group, where the stories have the same third act, in the prom, and if she takes off her glasses, she'll be pretty. Our movie is different. It's a wild ride.''

Selling an original idea like ``Go'' isn't easy, although it's the fresh movies that get noticed by fickle young audiences. ``Things that don't feel like there's anything new are death in this marketplace,'' says Rosenberg, who was with Dimension Films when that company hit pay dirt with ``Scream.'' ``The last thing teens are interested in is what they had last month. And yet `Go' is something most everybody passed on when we went out with just the script.''

Right now, the safest route for filmmakers seems to be doing remakes of classic literature. Teen films have turned to the French classic ``Les Liaisons Dangéreuses'' (``Cruel Intentions''), George Bernard Shaw (``She's All That'') and Shakespeare's ``Taming of the Shrew'' (``10 Things''). Later this year comes ``O,'' an adolescent take on ``Othello.''

Introducing the Bard to young people is one bonus of the new teen flicks. Another is the strong role models that are being presented for girls.

``10 Things'' has a lead character, Kat (Julia Stiles), who'd rather be unusual than succumb to peer pressure. ``She's All That'' features a heroine (Rachael Leigh Cook) who wins over the jock, not by conforming, but by staying true to her artsy nerd self.

And in Drew Barrymore's sweet ``Never Been Kissed,'' her character, Josie, gets a chance to relive high school and learn once again that smart girls are labeled as geeks. Barrymore acts and looks the klutz for the part, but she gives Josie an intelligence and sensitivity that are tremendously attractive and lead to her triumph.

``We didn't necessarily make a conscious decision to be just for girls, but we wanted to make it as appealing to them as possible,'' says ``Never Been Kissed'' director Raja Gosnell. ``Drew played Josie straight from her heart, and was really courageous with the character. There aren't a lot of stars who would agree to look like Drew does in the movie.''

Back in the '80s, teen flicks burned brightly with the Brat Pack, then faded out as the stars grew up and the ideas became stale. Insiders say the same thing could be happening again.

Director Gil Junger, a sitcom veteran, says he's glad his film debut, ``10 Things I Hate About You,'' made it into theaters when it did.

``My feeling is we're in a cycle, and we're at the end of it,'' says Junger. ``By the end of this summer, you're not going to see this trend anymore. Eventually, it will be, `Ugh! Another teen movie!' ''

WANT TO see a teen movie? You're in luck. Every week there seems to be a new one at theaters. If you're looking for something that's juvenile, in a good way, here are 10 that could make the honor roll for the class of '99.

 "Never Been Kissed" (now playing). The lovable Drew Barrymore should draw in young and old alike with this sweet tale of a woman who goes back to high school for a newspaper assignment and gets a chance to relive her geeky past.

 "Go" (now playing). Fast and funny, it's a "Pulp Fiction" for teens that goes to extremes without being nasty. Look for Scott Wolf of "Party of Five" and Katie Holmes of "Dawson's Creek" in roles that will enhance their screen cred.

 Ten Things I Hate About You (now playing). Mix Shakespeare and "She's All That," and this is what you get. Girls will like the heroine in this "Taming of the Shrew" update, the strong, proudly unpopular Kat (Julia Stiles).

 "Election" (April 23). Matthew Broderick is a history teacher who tries to defeat a perky candidate for student-body president (Reese Witherspoon). "Bulworth" goes to high school?

 "SLC Punk!" (April 30). Funny guy Matthew Lillard, who did a great Puck impression in "She's All That," plays an '80s punker who must decide between Harvard Law School or staying in Salt Lake City.

 "Big Daddy" (June 25). Adam Sandler isn't actually a kid. He just behaves like one. Here, he adopts one, too, in an effort to impress a woman.

 "Dick" (July 9). Around the time of Watergate, two girls (Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst) wander away from the White House tour and meet President Nixon. No Monica jokes, please.

 "American Pie" (summer). This one has been described as a funnier, fresher "Losin' It," if that's possible. Some male buddies agree to lose their virginity before the prom.

 "Drop Dead Gorgeous" (summer). A mockumentary about a small-town pageant that used to be titled "Dairy Queens." Denise Richards and Kirsten Dunst are in the running for Miss Dairy.

 "South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" (summer). Following in the footsteps of Beavis and Butt-head, Comedy Central's vulgar cartoon kids graduate to thescreen. Does the world need a larger Cartman?

• Julie Hinds

By Julie Hinds

Mercury News Film Writer

Published: Tuesday, April 13, 1999

REMEMBER WHEN a group of young actors known as the Brat Pack had a monopoly on teen movies in the 1980s? They've been replaced by the next generation of budding stars, but the archetypes remain the same. In fact, you could remake "The Breakfast Club" with the teen dreamboats of today and make a few easy million. But who'd be as charming as Molly Ringwald, and who'd fume as much as Judd Nelson? Here are some candidates for a modern version of the Brat Pack (some people define it strictly, but this list includes both definitive Brats like Ringwald and honorary members such as Tom Cruise). Anyone for Claire Danes and James Van Der Beek in "Pretty in Pink II"?

The goofy rebel Brat packer: Judd Nelson.'90s replacement: Giovanni Ribisi ("The Mod Squad")

The sweet, quirky girl Brat packer: Molly Ringwald. '90s replacement: Claire Danes ("The Mod Squad")

The handsome dude Brat packer: Rob Lowe. '90s replacement: Ryan Phillippe ("Cruel Intentions")

The sultry vixen Brat packer: Demi Moore. '90s replacement: Katie Holmes ("Go")

The wonder boy Brat packer: Tom Cruise. '90s replacement: Jonathan Jackson ("Deep End of the Ocean")

The wistful virgin Brat packer: Mare Winningham. '90s replacement: Keri Russell (the WB's "Felicity")

The brainy outcast Brat packer: Ally Sheedy. '90s replacement: Christina Ricci ("200 Cigarettes")

The sensitive thinker Brat packer: Andrew McCarthy. '90s replacement: James Van Der Beek ("Varsity Blues")

The soul-searching jock Brat packer: Emilio Estevez. '90s replacement: Freddie Prinze Jr. ("She's All That")

The funny loser Brat packer: Jon Cryer. '90s replacement: Joseph-Gordon Levitt ("10 Things I Hate

About You")

The evil preppie Brat packer: James Spader. '90s replacement: Paul Walker ("She's All That")

The comic nerd Brat packer: Anthony Michael Hall. '90s replacement: Kieran Culkin ("She's All That")

Here's your chance to vote for your favorite teen movies for each decade. Make sure to check one box

for each question, then click the "Count my vote!" button at the bottom of the page. (One ballot per

person, please).

'50s

The Blackboard Jungle (1955)

Gidget (1959)

Jailhouse Rock (1957)

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

The Wild One (1954)

'60s

Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)

Bikini Beach (1964)

A Hard Day's Night (1964)

How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)

West Side Story (1961)

'70s

American Graffiti (1973)

Carrie (1976)

Grease (1978)

Halloween (1978)

Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)

'80s

Breakfast Club (1985)

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

The Outsiders (1983)

Pretty in Pink (1986)

Sixteen Candles (1984)

'90s

Clueless (1995)

House Party (1990)

Scream (1996)

She's All That (1999)

Varsity Blues (1999)

Wayne's World (1992)

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