Arts and Entertainment
'In the Mood' tells tale of 15-year-old who grew up fast
In 1944 the world was black
and white. In 1987 the world is
in color, and it is nice to return
to the days of newsreels and big
bands "In the Mood" is a
nostalgic film which acts as a
time machine, transporting the
viewer back to the past.
Review by
Craig Hoit
★ ★ V2
The film opens with a black
and-white collage of 1940s
newsreel images. During this
sequence we are introduced to
the main character. Ellsworth
"Sonny" Wisecarver, as he nar
rates the newsreel, telling us
“. . the world was black and
white." The joke works, and
helps to establish the film's
light sense of humor.
Sonny continues, stating that
life in 1944 was black and white
— there was good and bad. right
and wrong. The newsreel is
made up of headlines telling of
the exploits of the "woo-woo
kid" — Sonny Wisecarver
“In the Mood" is a true story'
about a fifteen-year-old boy who
marries an older woman, and
who. when his marriage is an
nulled. spends a weekend with
another older woman His ex
periences were played up with
groat media hype, and the woo
woo kid became a celebrity The
exposure thrust upon Sonny is
shown by the film's use of
newsreel footage, radio com
mentary. and the constant wash
of attention he is bathed in. This
cold and sensationalized
presentation of the individual is
contrasted by the film's sym
pathetic view of Sonny and his
circumstances.
Sonny, played by Patrick
Dempsey with endearing in
nocence and optimism, is a boy
who wants to be an adult. His
family situation is one that he
wishes to leave. In trying to
grow up. Sonny marks the pro
gress of his physical growth on
a door frame, and when his
father finds out. Sonny has to
JB-A
<4NirlMy photo
Sonny Wisecarver (Patrick Dempsey) and Judy Cusimano
(Talia Balsam) enjoy life after their marriage, which sparked a
nationwide scandal.
CAREER
FAIR987
October 20 21,1987
10:00am-2:00pm
167 EMU
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DRINKING AND DRIVING
CAN KILL A FRIENDSHIP
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A boy with a taste for older women, Sonny Wisecarver (Patrick Dempsey) actually meets a yirl his
aye. Wendy (Kim Myers).
lick the pencil marks clean. His
mother enters the room, looks at
the situation and exclaims,
"this is not right ” She then
proceeds to get Sonny a chair so
that he won't strain his neck as
he cleans the door frame
Judy, played by Tilia Balsam,
lives across the street from Son
ny. She also is a prisoner of her
circumstances. Her husband
beats her. Her social life is made
up of a collection of hollow
friends who use her house to
party. It is at one of these parties
that |udy and Sonny meet. The
two. both running from their
respective black and white
worlds, fall in love.
The development of their
relationship is somewhat lack
ing. as it is presented in idealiz
ed terms They LOVE each other
in a matter of days — there is no
room or time for conflict in this
ride from being neighbors to lie
ins newlyweds.
However, the sincerity of
Dempsey and Balsam, along
with the innocence that the
film's period decor evokes,
tends to diminish the im
probability of the perfect nature
of the romance The romance is
not perfect in the eyes of socie
ty. and the lovers are torn apart
by a judge, as the newspapers
stand by to pic k up the pieces
that fall
Sonny is now famous.
Women from all over the coun
try idolize him, and he is mobb
ed by women at his place of
work. People deal with him as a
persona, not as a person. He is
the woo-woo kid. The landlady
at his boarding house casts a
judgemental eye upon Sonny
and all of his actions. The oidy
person who will relate to Sonny
as Sonny is Francine (Beverly
D' Angelo), a twenty-five-year
old with a husband overseas
Francinn and Sonny develop
a warm and humorous relation
ship in the restrictive and
puritanical environment of the
hoarding house. The two end
up running away together to tire
northern California town of
Paradise. where they spend the
night together. The wiki-wiki
kid has struck once again This
information is spread across the
nation's headlines
Sonny is sentenced to six
years in the California Prison for
Hoys. Me escapes, runs, and
ends up resting in a movie
house where “And So They
Were Married" plays. At this
theater he meets a girl (his age)
who tells him he is a lot smaller
than in the newsreels. The two
go for coffee and as they are
walking away. Sonny tells us.
"and three weeks later Wendy
and t were married... . "
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