Amazon.com

Tackling an entire decade--and a turbulent one at that--within a three-hour movie is a challenge, and while The '60s is frequently entertaining, it unfortunately is not completely up to the task. The movie follows the lives of four young people, three from a white suburban family with parents out of The Wonder Years and one African American from the South. The characters are forced into one-dimensional clichés; they are their personas to the nth degree.Katie (Julia Stiles), the pretty young blond, is the lost hippie; Brian (Jerry O'Connell), the former high school football player, is the gung-ho-turned-disgruntled Vietnam solider; Michael (Josh Hamilton) exemplifies the political activist; and Emmet (Leonard Roberts), the only representative of the entire black movement of the '60s, plays first the pacifist who effects change through nonviolent means and then the Black Panther, and then he finally returns to his nonviolent ways. Yet despite the trite characters and slow beginning, the movie picks up pace as each becomes involved in his or her own story.They become strangely compelling, to the point where you are sorry when the story switches to another character because you want to see more.

An eclectic shooting style--a mixture of archival footage, seamlessly spliced with shots of the miniseries in black and white, which then becomes color--effectively places the characters in the '60s context.You can believe that these folks were at the Democratic Convention in Chicago or the Watts riots or Woodstock. Yet, sometimes a break is needed: the film is unrelenting in presenting crisis after crisis with no respite, making one wonder if there were any quiet, simple, or nice moments in the entire decade. The sentimental soundtrack plays continuously, helping set the appropriate tone and the frenetic atmosphere of the movie. For those who lived through the '60s, this miniseries provides a nostalgic look back at the various movements and a general feel of the time, especially with the proliferation of film clips that aren't oft repeated (we've all seen the moon landing ad nauseam, but footage of Abbie Hoffman or Dylan playing the club scene in the East Village are refreshing).And for those born after this period, this miniseries makes the decade look like a frenzied, troubled mess that we can be grateful we had the good fortune to miss. --Jenny Brown ... Read more

Reviews (44)

Entertaining Yet Uneven
I've watched the miniseries on VH1 and I truly love it. I think it's a great history lesson and entertaining at that. I wasn't there, so I can't tell you how accurate it is. However, I found Michael to be a bit too modern. For most of the movie, it looked like he had wandered onto the set from Friends. Everytime he was on the screen, all I could think about was how he looked like he was in the wrong decade. Some of the other scenes, like the Woodstock scene, seemed trite and overdone. But overall, I enjoyed the story, the characters and of course, the music!

The '60s: Great Movie from Beginning to End!!
I absolutely LOVE this movie!! I've always been fascinated
with the "decade that changed America forever", even though
I wasn't born until 1973. The film has an excellent cast,
and I especially liked Josh Hamilton's performance as
Michael Herlihy...intelligent, sensitive, very socially
conscious...and VERY cute!! I also watched with interest
the relationship between Katie Herlihy and her father.
Having grown up in a strict Catholic family myself, I
could relate to the moral issues and the conflict they
struggled with. (Although I think it's BEYOND RIDICULOUS
that Katie got in trouble at the homecoming dance for
dancing the Twist, labeled "lewd and inappropriate" by
her father & Sister Elizabeth.) Oh, how the times have
changed!! I have watched this movie probably a dozen times,
and probably will watch it a dozen more...I never get
tired of it. If you are interested in the music,
sociology and/or politics of the 1960s, you need to
watch this film. I'm glad I did!

Review of "The '60s"
I enjoyed this DVD, although the acting was a bit cheezy and we didn't see anyone too famous (well, except Dylan, Mario Savio and the rest...) however it was quite enjoyable.

For anyone born a bit too late (like myself) then I recommend watching it.

UHG!
This thing failed to accomplish in many hours what "The Wonder Years" routinely pulled off in thirty minutes. That's it. There's no more to say.

the best movie ever
i'm also a french girl who could watch this movie a few years ago and i really think it's a quite good one.
it's the first time a movie shows as well some historical events.
i advice everybody to learn about the sixties by this movie.only 3 hours to show most important events of that period.
a good way of learning history for students who have problems to remember some dates ot things like that and maybe watch some real pictures of that time!!! ... Read more

Reviews (94)

HERE ON EARTH
I CAN'T NOT EXPLAIN THE TRUTH OF THIS MOVIE, IT WAS SO OVERWELMING. THIS MOVIE EXPLAINS HOW INPORTANT LOVE REALLY IS TO SOME PEOPLE. CHRIS KLEIN (KELLEY) PLAYED AN EXCELLENT ROLE. HE PLAYED A RICH KID WITH ALL THE LOOKS, MONEY, AND POPULARITY. SOME PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK THAT RICH PEOPLE HAVE ALL THE BREAKS, BUT HE SHOWS EVERYONE INCLUDING LEELEE SOBIESKI (SAMANTHA), THE GIRL FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF TRACKS, THAT EVERYONE HAS THE SAME PROBLEMS. WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER HIS MOTHER KILLED HERSELF. HE REALLY LOVED HIS MOTHER, JUST AS HE LOVES SAMANTHA. WHEN HE FOUND OUT THAT SHE WAS DYING OF OSTEOSARCOMA HE COULDN'T HANDLE THE THOUGHT OF LOSING ANOTHER LOVED ONE. SO WHEN THEY FINSHED REBUILDING THE RESTRAUNT THAT HE AND JOSH HARTNETT (JASPER) HAD ACCIDENTLY BLOWN-UP DURNING AN AUTOMOBILE RACE HE MOVED BACK TO BOSTON. AFTER BEING HOME FOR AWHILE HE REALIZED THAT HE DID NEED HER AS MUCH AS SHE NEEDED HIM. THE DAY OF THE RE-GRAND OPENING HE CAME BACK TO BE WITH HER UNTIL THE LAST OF HER DAYS ON EARTH HAD ARRIVED.

A Definate "Watch Again, & Again ,& Again" Movie!
This movie keeps me engaged from beginning to end. If you love watching young people being surprisingly mature and wise beyond their years (LeeLee's character), yet recklessly in love at times (Hartnett & Klein's characters), you'll like this movie. It's the story of two teen boys putting back and making right what they have ruined, and a teen girl finding out that her longtime bestfriend/boyfriend (one of the boys} isn't necessarally her "true" love....Can you guess what role the other boy plays?... The Robert Frost poem used as the backdrop of the film lends a special meaning. Music tops it off perfectly. It is truely a "tear yerker" at the end. LOVED THIS MOVIE SO MUCH THAT I EVEN BOUGHT THE SOUNDTRACK...WHICH IS TERRIFIC AS WELL. It brings back all the great scenes of the movie!

Almost worse than Charlie's Angels
I watched this on cable because I was a big Leelee fan. Big mistake. What a horrible film. You don't care one bit for any of the characters in the movie. Chris Klein plays a guy who is a complete jerk in the film, and steals away Josh Hartnett's longtime girlfriend. If the writer knew what they were doing, this film would have followed the proven formula, and made Hartnett an ass, and Leelee as the girlfriend trapped in a bad relationship, from which she's saved by Klein. But Hartnett is a really cool guy, who shows a lot of emotion and love for Leelee.

You then hate leelee, because she cheats on Hartnett with Klein, who is a jerk to everyone in the town that's trying to help him and really stuck up.

It's also really campy, and the characters do everything but run around the kitchen dancing and lip synching, and using hairbrushes and spoons and fake microphones (although they come very close).

What a horrible horrible movie. You don't even care what happens in the end because the director never lets you care about the characters.

Wonderful!!
I am not a young person but I just saw this movie on TV and it was wonderful!!!! Would buy the video in a minute...it's was great.

wildly predictable and uninspiring teen fluff
If beautiful people and horrible writing move you, by all means purchase this movie now and cry like there's no tomorrow. This is an instant classic from the profitable teen cheese factory and delivers like a charm to those who LOVE teen weepies. (For us others, we'll just suffer in silence, or, as I did, laugh really hard.) The requisite ingredients - love triangle, terminal disease, poor boy/rich boy - push the plot along in the most predictable way imaginable. Sam (Lelee Sobieski) and Jasper (Josh Hartnett) are happy in love, a superstar couple in their small town until Kelley (Chris Klein), the wealthy, out-of-town snot, comes crashing into the diner owned by Sam's parents. As a punishment, he must rebuild the diner but with the help of our buddy Jasper, who also had a hand in the crash. Before long, Sam eyes that hunky Kelley because, hey, who wouldn't fall for a mysterious rich kid? While the two boys wage their testosterone war, Sam discovers she has cancer. Uh-oh!

This movie is a big disappointment because it fails to capitalize on a relatively talented cast and a pseudo-inspiring story. Rather than developing characters instead of caricatures, the filmmakers opted for the easy, fast cash route. As a result, the dialogue seems to be spun from a 13 year old's soap opera fantasy, befitting of the target audience I suppose. Nothing innovative or inspiring comes about, leaving the audience with zero originality to warm to; this total lack of emotional investment keeps the movie distant and empty. You could say it offers ever-important life lessons to the female jr. high crowd. They undoubtedly appreciate the fine merits of this film that those in the general population seem to have missed ... Read more

Amazon.com

A show so popular with its core audience that it runs in syndication even though only 19 episodes were made, My So-Called Life was the world's first introduction to actress Claire Danes (Romeo & Juliet, Home for the Holidays, The Mod Squad), who played the lead character Angela. In "Dancing in the Dark," Angela daydreams during science class, recalling the few times she's been kissed. She's been thinking about Jordan Catalano, a handsome boy who seems out of her reach. Her spunky and out-of-control friend Rayanne decides to throw the two together by getting Jordan to drop by Brian Krakow's house, where Angela and Brian (who has a crush on Angela) are doing a science project for extra credit. Meanwhile, Angela's parents try to rekindle their marriage-worn affections by taking up ballroom dancing. While both Angela and her parents muddle through their experiments with romance, viewers are treated to a well-written, shot and edited show, which set the pace for all hour-long teen oriented programs to come.

"Guns and Gossip" continues with the parallel story structure of "Dancing in the Dark." Brian Krakow witnesses a gunshot in the hallway at school. As word passes, Brian becomes more and more of a legendary figure. While he is pressured by school officials and uptight parents to identify the person involved, Angela has to contend with rumors that she slept with Jordan Catalano. Boys start looking at her differently, and she finds herself at delicate odds with Jordan. Less about romance and more about teenage issues, "Guns and Gossip" is a sophisticated intertwining between the power of rumors and the truth of actual events. --Shannon Gee ... Read more

Amazon.com

Although the television show My So-Called Life ran for a mere 19 episodes, its popularity has lived on in syndication, various Web sites (that include fan fiction and episode analysis), and home video. Volume 3 of the video series includes the episodes "Father Figure" and "The Zit." In "Father Figure," Angela's father Graham, who was considering having an extramarital affair, senses that Angela is beginning to pull away from him. He tries to remedy this by giving her and her friend Rayanne Grateful Dead tickets. While Rayanne (who doesn't know her father) is joyous, Angela, who is suspicious, wants nothing to do with the tickets and decides to scalp them. Angela's mother Patty is also struggling with her own father who doubts her ability to run the family business. When the business is audited by the IRS the same night as the concert, fathers and daughters clash as they try to equalize their relationships.

In "The Zit," the sophomore girls top-40 list is released at school. While Rayanne is deemed "most slut potential" and Angela's estranged friend Sharon is voted "best hooters," Angela's only award is a big pimple on her chin. As her self-esteem shrinks, Patty insists she participate in the yearly mother-daughter fashion show, coaching her on "how to look your best." Although Patty has always been told how pretty she is, her own insecurities on aging have projected onto fixing up Angela, who feels she will never live up to her mother's expectations. Bess Armstrong, who plays Patty, gives a complex performance here and Angela and Sharon exchange harsh words in a scene that rings true to life. --Shannon Gee ... Read more

Reviews (94)

HERE ON EARTH
I CAN'T NOT EXPLAIN THE TRUTH OF THIS MOVIE, IT WAS SO OVERWELMING. THIS MOVIE EXPLAINS HOW INPORTANT LOVE REALLY IS TO SOME PEOPLE. CHRIS KLEIN (KELLEY) PLAYED AN EXCELLENT ROLE. HE PLAYED A RICH KID WITH ALL THE LOOKS, MONEY, AND POPULARITY. SOME PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK THAT RICH PEOPLE HAVE ALL THE BREAKS, BUT HE SHOWS EVERYONE INCLUDING LEELEE SOBIESKI (SAMANTHA), THE GIRL FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF TRACKS, THAT EVERYONE HAS THE SAME PROBLEMS. WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER HIS MOTHER KILLED HERSELF. HE REALLY LOVED HIS MOTHER, JUST AS HE LOVES SAMANTHA. WHEN HE FOUND OUT THAT SHE WAS DYING OF OSTEOSARCOMA HE COULDN'T HANDLE THE THOUGHT OF LOSING ANOTHER LOVED ONE. SO WHEN THEY FINSHED REBUILDING THE RESTRAUNT THAT HE AND JOSH HARTNETT (JASPER) HAD ACCIDENTLY BLOWN-UP DURNING AN AUTOMOBILE RACE HE MOVED BACK TO BOSTON. AFTER BEING HOME FOR AWHILE HE REALIZED THAT HE DID NEED HER AS MUCH AS SHE NEEDED HIM. THE DAY OF THE RE-GRAND OPENING HE CAME BACK TO BE WITH HER UNTIL THE LAST OF HER DAYS ON EARTH HAD ARRIVED.

A Definate "Watch Again, & Again ,& Again" Movie!
This movie keeps me engaged from beginning to end. If you love watching young people being surprisingly mature and wise beyond their years (LeeLee's character), yet recklessly in love at times (Hartnett & Klein's characters), you'll like this movie. It's the story of two teen boys putting back and making right what they have ruined, and a teen girl finding out that her longtime bestfriend/boyfriend (one of the boys} isn't necessarally her "true" love....Can you guess what role the other boy plays?... The Robert Frost poem used as the backdrop of the film lends a special meaning. Music tops it off perfectly. It is truely a "tear yerker" at the end. LOVED THIS MOVIE SO MUCH THAT I EVEN BOUGHT THE SOUNDTRACK...WHICH IS TERRIFIC AS WELL. It brings back all the great scenes of the movie!

Almost worse than Charlie's Angels
I watched this on cable because I was a big Leelee fan. Big mistake. What a horrible film. You don't care one bit for any of the characters in the movie. Chris Klein plays a guy who is a complete jerk in the film, and steals away Josh Hartnett's longtime girlfriend. If the writer knew what they were doing, this film would have followed the proven formula, and made Hartnett an ass, and Leelee as the girlfriend trapped in a bad relationship, from which she's saved by Klein. But Hartnett is a really cool guy, who shows a lot of emotion and love for Leelee.

You then hate leelee, because she cheats on Hartnett with Klein, who is a jerk to everyone in the town that's trying to help him and really stuck up.

It's also really campy, and the characters do everything but run around the kitchen dancing and lip synching, and using hairbrushes and spoons and fake microphones (although they come very close).

What a horrible horrible movie. You don't even care what happens in the end because the director never lets you care about the characters.

Wonderful!!
I am not a young person but I just saw this movie on TV and it was wonderful!!!! Would buy the video in a minute...it's was great.

wildly predictable and uninspiring teen fluff
If beautiful people and horrible writing move you, by all means purchase this movie now and cry like there's no tomorrow. This is an instant classic from the profitable teen cheese factory and delivers like a charm to those who LOVE teen weepies. (For us others, we'll just suffer in silence, or, as I did, laugh really hard.) The requisite ingredients - love triangle, terminal disease, poor boy/rich boy - push the plot along in the most predictable way imaginable. Sam (Lelee Sobieski) and Jasper (Josh Hartnett) are happy in love, a superstar couple in their small town until Kelley (Chris Klein), the wealthy, out-of-town snot, comes crashing into the diner owned by Sam's parents. As a punishment, he must rebuild the diner but with the help of our buddy Jasper, who also had a hand in the crash. Before long, Sam eyes that hunky Kelley because, hey, who wouldn't fall for a mysterious rich kid? While the two boys wage their testosterone war, Sam discovers she has cancer. Uh-oh!

This movie is a big disappointment because it fails to capitalize on a relatively talented cast and a pseudo-inspiring story. Rather than developing characters instead of caricatures, the filmmakers opted for the easy, fast cash route. As a result, the dialogue seems to be spun from a 13 year old's soap opera fantasy, befitting of the target audience I suppose. Nothing innovative or inspiring comes about, leaving the audience with zero originality to warm to; this total lack of emotional investment keeps the movie distant and empty. You could say it offers ever-important life lessons to the female jr. high crowd. They undoubtedly appreciate the fine merits of this film that those in the general population seem to have missed ... Read more

Reviews (94)

HERE ON EARTH
I CAN'T NOT EXPLAIN THE TRUTH OF THIS MOVIE, IT WAS SO OVERWELMING. THIS MOVIE EXPLAINS HOW INPORTANT LOVE REALLY IS TO SOME PEOPLE. CHRIS KLEIN (KELLEY) PLAYED AN EXCELLENT ROLE. HE PLAYED A RICH KID WITH ALL THE LOOKS, MONEY, AND POPULARITY. SOME PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK THAT RICH PEOPLE HAVE ALL THE BREAKS, BUT HE SHOWS EVERYONE INCLUDING LEELEE SOBIESKI (SAMANTHA), THE GIRL FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF TRACKS, THAT EVERYONE HAS THE SAME PROBLEMS. WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER HIS MOTHER KILLED HERSELF. HE REALLY LOVED HIS MOTHER, JUST AS HE LOVES SAMANTHA. WHEN HE FOUND OUT THAT SHE WAS DYING OF OSTEOSARCOMA HE COULDN'T HANDLE THE THOUGHT OF LOSING ANOTHER LOVED ONE. SO WHEN THEY FINSHED REBUILDING THE RESTRAUNT THAT HE AND JOSH HARTNETT (JASPER) HAD ACCIDENTLY BLOWN-UP DURNING AN AUTOMOBILE RACE HE MOVED BACK TO BOSTON. AFTER BEING HOME FOR AWHILE HE REALIZED THAT HE DID NEED HER AS MUCH AS SHE NEEDED HIM. THE DAY OF THE RE-GRAND OPENING HE CAME BACK TO BE WITH HER UNTIL THE LAST OF HER DAYS ON EARTH HAD ARRIVED.

A Definate "Watch Again, & Again ,& Again" Movie!
This movie keeps me engaged from beginning to end. If you love watching young people being surprisingly mature and wise beyond their years (LeeLee's character), yet recklessly in love at times (Hartnett & Klein's characters), you'll like this movie. It's the story of two teen boys putting back and making right what they have ruined, and a teen girl finding out that her longtime bestfriend/boyfriend (one of the boys} isn't necessarally her "true" love....Can you guess what role the other boy plays?... The Robert Frost poem used as the backdrop of the film lends a special meaning. Music tops it off perfectly. It is truely a "tear yerker" at the end. LOVED THIS MOVIE SO MUCH THAT I EVEN BOUGHT THE SOUNDTRACK...WHICH IS TERRIFIC AS WELL. It brings back all the great scenes of the movie!

Almost worse than Charlie's Angels
I watched this on cable because I was a big Leelee fan. Big mistake. What a horrible film. You don't care one bit for any of the characters in the movie. Chris Klein plays a guy who is a complete jerk in the film, and steals away Josh Hartnett's longtime girlfriend. If the writer knew what they were doing, this film would have followed the proven formula, and made Hartnett an ass, and Leelee as the girlfriend trapped in a bad relationship, from which she's saved by Klein. But Hartnett is a really cool guy, who shows a lot of emotion and love for Leelee.

You then hate leelee, because she cheats on Hartnett with Klein, who is a jerk to everyone in the town that's trying to help him and really stuck up.

It's also really campy, and the characters do everything but run around the kitchen dancing and lip synching, and using hairbrushes and spoons and fake microphones (although they come very close).

What a horrible horrible movie. You don't even care what happens in the end because the director never lets you care about the characters.

Wonderful!!
I am not a young person but I just saw this movie on TV and it was wonderful!!!! Would buy the video in a minute...it's was great.

wildly predictable and uninspiring teen fluff
If beautiful people and horrible writing move you, by all means purchase this movie now and cry like there's no tomorrow. This is an instant classic from the profitable teen cheese factory and delivers like a charm to those who LOVE teen weepies. (For us others, we'll just suffer in silence, or, as I did, laugh really hard.) The requisite ingredients - love triangle, terminal disease, poor boy/rich boy - push the plot along in the most predictable way imaginable. Sam (Lelee Sobieski) and Jasper (Josh Hartnett) are happy in love, a superstar couple in their small town until Kelley (Chris Klein), the wealthy, out-of-town snot, comes crashing into the diner owned by Sam's parents. As a punishment, he must rebuild the diner but with the help of our buddy Jasper, who also had a hand in the crash. Before long, Sam eyes that hunky Kelley because, hey, who wouldn't fall for a mysterious rich kid? While the two boys wage their testosterone war, Sam discovers she has cancer. Uh-oh!

This movie is a big disappointment because it fails to capitalize on a relatively talented cast and a pseudo-inspiring story. Rather than developing characters instead of caricatures, the filmmakers opted for the easy, fast cash route. As a result, the dialogue seems to be spun from a 13 year old's soap opera fantasy, befitting of the target audience I suppose. Nothing innovative or inspiring comes about, leaving the audience with zero originality to warm to; this total lack of emotional investment keeps the movie distant and empty. You could say it offers ever-important life lessons to the female jr. high crowd. They undoubtedly appreciate the fine merits of this film that those in the general population seem to have missed ... Read more

Reviews (8)

This show was simply better than television.
It was cancelled because america and the networks were not willing to listen to the loyal veiwers and critics who understood just how special this show really was. No show, other than this one, has ever come so close to trully describing life as an average teen. It showed the emotion of life at home and at school with a brilliant cast of actors who were able to really put themselves in their roles. The moods, the settings, the events felt so real that it was almost like walking back into highschool. This review may sound like to much to believe, but I have never seen a show like this on television since. I can only hope someone decides to put as much time into future works. The series may become a sort of a cult classic in time, but those of us who trully loved it understand the power of brilliant writing, bueatiful scenes , and the trully wonderful cast that made this show so good. Each episode is a lesson and a reminder of what it was like to be a teen. There are few shows on TV that were good enough to be something more that a series of episodes. The creators painted a picture of life for us to view with all of its reality, emotion, drama, anxiety, happiness and pian. For the people who do not understand its attraction to obsession I must ask, what was your highschool life like? This was mine. I thank them for reminding me just how real and emotional a time it was.

Mscl is the most realistc teen series ever.
MSCL is the the best teen series ever. This gripping and heartfelt show left millions of young people like me changed for life. THis is truly the most realistic and honest series ever on tv and it crushed millions of fans worldwide when it was canceled and we are very pleased to be able to re-witness this truly remarkable show agian and agian! it gets better every time, we only wish that we could have all the episodes!

My So-Called Life
My So-Called Life was a great show, that actually caught my attention to watch it. Claire Danes is a wonderful actress, and she can play any role very well. This show was NOTHING like cheezy shows such as Dawson's Creek, it was'nt some fake teen melo-drama that was so completely fake and stupid that it made you want to change the channel. This show was great, and it should'nt have been cancelled. It showed what every day teenagers go through and how they act. I recommend watching this and seeing for yourself how great it is.

help me
sorry- this is not a review- please ask the producers of this video to make it in PAL (or whatever the U.K format is) I would buy them all then

MSCL Rocks
Dude, Like MSCL Rocks and it's so awesome that we can finally watch it on video (since it's oh so premature knock off the air *sob*) nevertheless, we must make due with what they give us and Reruns it shall be. Thanks for selling these awesome tapes. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

My so-called Life was one of the best teen dramas on TV !
The Tv stations who canceled it were crazy!! It was one of the few shows that teens could truly relate to because it didn't have everything to do with, hair clothes and who great your body was like 90210 does not too mentoin other shows on tv!

I don't even have a like life.
I loved this episode of "My So-Called Life". Jordan finding the letter that Angela wrote him, but not intending to give to him, is wonderfully romantic. It brought Angela and Jordan closer together. They formed a bound because of Angela's caring words of support. And they shared their first real kiss. Though confusion in the end left Angela heart broken, it was only an intermission of things to come. ... Read more

Reviews (94)

HERE ON EARTH
I CAN'T NOT EXPLAIN THE TRUTH OF THIS MOVIE, IT WAS SO OVERWELMING. THIS MOVIE EXPLAINS HOW INPORTANT LOVE REALLY IS TO SOME PEOPLE. CHRIS KLEIN (KELLEY) PLAYED AN EXCELLENT ROLE. HE PLAYED A RICH KID WITH ALL THE LOOKS, MONEY, AND POPULARITY. SOME PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK THAT RICH PEOPLE HAVE ALL THE BREAKS, BUT HE SHOWS EVERYONE INCLUDING LEELEE SOBIESKI (SAMANTHA), THE GIRL FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF TRACKS, THAT EVERYONE HAS THE SAME PROBLEMS. WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER HIS MOTHER KILLED HERSELF. HE REALLY LOVED HIS MOTHER, JUST AS HE LOVES SAMANTHA. WHEN HE FOUND OUT THAT SHE WAS DYING OF OSTEOSARCOMA HE COULDN'T HANDLE THE THOUGHT OF LOSING ANOTHER LOVED ONE. SO WHEN THEY FINSHED REBUILDING THE RESTRAUNT THAT HE AND JOSH HARTNETT (JASPER) HAD ACCIDENTLY BLOWN-UP DURNING AN AUTOMOBILE RACE HE MOVED BACK TO BOSTON. AFTER BEING HOME FOR AWHILE HE REALIZED THAT HE DID NEED HER AS MUCH AS SHE NEEDED HIM. THE DAY OF THE RE-GRAND OPENING HE CAME BACK TO BE WITH HER UNTIL THE LAST OF HER DAYS ON EARTH HAD ARRIVED.

A Definate "Watch Again, & Again ,& Again" Movie!
This movie keeps me engaged from beginning to end. If you love watching young people being surprisingly mature and wise beyond their years (LeeLee's character), yet recklessly in love at times (Hartnett & Klein's characters), you'll like this movie. It's the story of two teen boys putting back and making right what they have ruined, and a teen girl finding out that her longtime bestfriend/boyfriend (one of the boys} isn't necessarally her "true" love....Can you guess what role the other boy plays?... The Robert Frost poem used as the backdrop of the film lends a special meaning. Music tops it off perfectly. It is truely a "tear yerker" at the end. LOVED THIS MOVIE SO MUCH THAT I EVEN BOUGHT THE SOUNDTRACK...WHICH IS TERRIFIC AS WELL. It brings back all the great scenes of the movie!

Almost worse than Charlie's Angels
I watched this on cable because I was a big Leelee fan. Big mistake. What a horrible film. You don't care one bit for any of the characters in the movie. Chris Klein plays a guy who is a complete jerk in the film, and steals away Josh Hartnett's longtime girlfriend. If the writer knew what they were doing, this film would have followed the proven formula, and made Hartnett an ass, and Leelee as the girlfriend trapped in a bad relationship, from which she's saved by Klein. But Hartnett is a really cool guy, who shows a lot of emotion and love for Leelee.

You then hate leelee, because she cheats on Hartnett with Klein, who is a jerk to everyone in the town that's trying to help him and really stuck up.

It's also really campy, and the characters do everything but run around the kitchen dancing and lip synching, and using hairbrushes and spoons and fake microphones (although they come very close).

What a horrible horrible movie. You don't even care what happens in the end because the director never lets you care about the characters.

Wonderful!!
I am not a young person but I just saw this movie on TV and it was wonderful!!!! Would buy the video in a minute...it's was great.

wildly predictable and uninspiring teen fluff
If beautiful people and horrible writing move you, by all means purchase this movie now and cry like there's no tomorrow. This is an instant classic from the profitable teen cheese factory and delivers like a charm to those who LOVE teen weepies. (For us others, we'll just suffer in silence, or, as I did, laugh really hard.) The requisite ingredients - love triangle, terminal disease, poor boy/rich boy - push the plot along in the most predictable way imaginable. Sam (Lelee Sobieski) and Jasper (Josh Hartnett) are happy in love, a superstar couple in their small town until Kelley (Chris Klein), the wealthy, out-of-town snot, comes crashing into the diner owned by Sam's parents. As a punishment, he must rebuild the diner but with the help of our buddy Jasper, who also had a hand in the crash. Before long, Sam eyes that hunky Kelley because, hey, who wouldn't fall for a mysterious rich kid? While the two boys wage their testosterone war, Sam discovers she has cancer. Uh-oh!

This movie is a big disappointment because it fails to capitalize on a relatively talented cast and a pseudo-inspiring story. Rather than developing characters instead of caricatures, the filmmakers opted for the easy, fast cash route. As a result, the dialogue seems to be spun from a 13 year old's soap opera fantasy, befitting of the target audience I suppose. Nothing innovative or inspiring comes about, leaving the audience with zero originality to warm to; this total lack of emotional investment keeps the movie distant and empty. You could say it offers ever-important life lessons to the female jr. high crowd. They undoubtedly appreciate the fine merits of this film that those in the general population seem to have missed ... Read more

Reviews (94)

HERE ON EARTH
I CAN'T NOT EXPLAIN THE TRUTH OF THIS MOVIE, IT WAS SO OVERWELMING. THIS MOVIE EXPLAINS HOW INPORTANT LOVE REALLY IS TO SOME PEOPLE. CHRIS KLEIN (KELLEY) PLAYED AN EXCELLENT ROLE. HE PLAYED A RICH KID WITH ALL THE LOOKS, MONEY, AND POPULARITY. SOME PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK THAT RICH PEOPLE HAVE ALL THE BREAKS, BUT HE SHOWS EVERYONE INCLUDING LEELEE SOBIESKI (SAMANTHA), THE GIRL FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF TRACKS, THAT EVERYONE HAS THE SAME PROBLEMS. WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER HIS MOTHER KILLED HERSELF. HE REALLY LOVED HIS MOTHER, JUST AS HE LOVES SAMANTHA. WHEN HE FOUND OUT THAT SHE WAS DYING OF OSTEOSARCOMA HE COULDN'T HANDLE THE THOUGHT OF LOSING ANOTHER LOVED ONE. SO WHEN THEY FINSHED REBUILDING THE RESTRAUNT THAT HE AND JOSH HARTNETT (JASPER) HAD ACCIDENTLY BLOWN-UP DURNING AN AUTOMOBILE RACE HE MOVED BACK TO BOSTON. AFTER BEING HOME FOR AWHILE HE REALIZED THAT HE DID NEED HER AS MUCH AS SHE NEEDED HIM. THE DAY OF THE RE-GRAND OPENING HE CAME BACK TO BE WITH HER UNTIL THE LAST OF HER DAYS ON EARTH HAD ARRIVED.

A Definate "Watch Again, & Again ,& Again" Movie!
This movie keeps me engaged from beginning to end. If you love watching young people being surprisingly mature and wise beyond their years (LeeLee's character), yet recklessly in love at times (Hartnett & Klein's characters), you'll like this movie. It's the story of two teen boys putting back and making right what they have ruined, and a teen girl finding out that her longtime bestfriend/boyfriend (one of the boys} isn't necessarally her "true" love....Can you guess what role the other boy plays?... The Robert Frost poem used as the backdrop of the film lends a special meaning. Music tops it off perfectly. It is truely a "tear yerker" at the end. LOVED THIS MOVIE SO MUCH THAT I EVEN BOUGHT THE SOUNDTRACK...WHICH IS TERRIFIC AS WELL. It brings back all the great scenes of the movie!

Almost worse than Charlie's Angels
I watched this on cable because I was a big Leelee fan. Big mistake. What a horrible film. You don't care one bit for any of the characters in the movie. Chris Klein plays a guy who is a complete jerk in the film, and steals away Josh Hartnett's longtime girlfriend. If the writer knew what they were doing, this film would have followed the proven formula, and made Hartnett an ass, and Leelee as the girlfriend trapped in a bad relationship, from which she's saved by Klein. But Hartnett is a really cool guy, who shows a lot of emotion and love for Leelee.

You then hate leelee, because she cheats on Hartnett with Klein, who is a jerk to everyone in the town that's trying to help him and really stuck up.

It's also really campy, and the characters do everything but run around the kitchen dancing and lip synching, and using hairbrushes and spoons and fake microphones (although they come very close).

What a horrible horrible movie. You don't even care what happens in the end because the director never lets you care about the characters.

Wonderful!!
I am not a young person but I just saw this movie on TV and it was wonderful!!!! Would buy the video in a minute...it's was great.

wildly predictable and uninspiring teen fluff
If beautiful people and horrible writing move you, by all means purchase this movie now and cry like there's no tomorrow. This is an instant classic from the profitable teen cheese factory and delivers like a charm to those who LOVE teen weepies. (For us others, we'll just suffer in silence, or, as I did, laugh really hard.) The requisite ingredients - love triangle, terminal disease, poor boy/rich boy - push the plot along in the most predictable way imaginable. Sam (Lelee Sobieski) and Jasper (Josh Hartnett) are happy in love, a superstar couple in their small town until Kelley (Chris Klein), the wealthy, out-of-town snot, comes crashing into the diner owned by Sam's parents. As a punishment, he must rebuild the diner but with the help of our buddy Jasper, who also had a hand in the crash. Before long, Sam eyes that hunky Kelley because, hey, who wouldn't fall for a mysterious rich kid? While the two boys wage their testosterone war, Sam discovers she has cancer. Uh-oh!

This movie is a big disappointment because it fails to capitalize on a relatively talented cast and a pseudo-inspiring story. Rather than developing characters instead of caricatures, the filmmakers opted for the easy, fast cash route. As a result, the dialogue seems to be spun from a 13 year old's soap opera fantasy, befitting of the target audience I suppose. Nothing innovative or inspiring comes about, leaving the audience with zero originality to warm to; this total lack of emotional investment keeps the movie distant and empty. You could say it offers ever-important life lessons to the female jr. high crowd. They undoubtedly appreciate the fine merits of this film that those in the general population seem to have missed ... Read more