Amazon.com

Two events force Kate (Jill Clayburgh) to confront the dissatisfactionsof her life: her father's impending wedding and a job offer that would take herfrom Chicago to New York. Her relationship with Homer (Charles Grodin) ispleasant but shallow. When she meets Ben (Michael Douglas) at the wedding'srehearsal dinner--he's her future stepbrother--there's an immediate spark. Theyflirt on the way home, finding themselves in an arcade where they both prove tobe intensely competitive. Their first encounter gets a little prickly, but soonthey find their relationship taking a deeper and more complicated turn. It'sMy Turn would never be made now; too many scenes of people talking, too manyunresolved questions. But the movie's attention to the details of humaninteraction, particularly the negotiations around a sexual encounter, make itrichly rewarding. Douglas gives a strong performance and Clayburgh is superb;it's delightful to rediscover how smart and sexy she could be. There's a generalimpression that dozens of women-centered movies were made in the late 1970s, butin fact movies that explore life from a woman's point of view are rare. Moreimpressive, though, It's My Turn was written and directed by women, andthe male characters are as fully developed and multidimensional as the women.It's a small movie--it covers a weekend in Kate's life and no tumultuousdecisions are made--but within that short span, a lot of life takes place.--Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A rating of MDA: Mawkish, Dopey, and Awful
The whole film, "It's my Turn", from beginning to end, is jive.

The characters portrayed in this film seem about as real as the two-dimensional cardboard likenesses of film stars that one might see in the lobby of a theatre. In contrast, Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie do a better job of appealing to greater intellect and provide more entertainment value, for sure.

The whole concept behind the movie is laughable. It's full of campy 70's feminist rhetoric, and about as deep as Barbie and Ken. Not much to think about here.

The dialogue sounds more like a set of mindless jokes. Did people really talk like that back in 1979?

Charles Grodin and Mike Douglas portray a couple of Archie and Jughead-types on the make. Jill Clayburg's performance is particularly laughable as a seventies version of everywoman who struggles with the mundane problems of life in Chicago and New York. A meaningless sub plot: Her father fails to comply with her beatific ideas of perfection!

I saw this film at the local cineplex over twenty years ago, and since then, I've never forgotten my feelings upon the conclusion of the film: I had just wasted two hours of my life on this piece of drivel.

At the time, I seriously considered breaking into the projection room, and taking the film from the projector outside to the parking lot, where I could then pour gasoline over it and burn it!

Watching this film was a truly hateful experience.

Surprisingly good
This is an engaging, thoughtful, funny film. Jill Clayburgh seems at ease with being ill-at-ease and it's fun to watch her struggle as the Michael Douglas character enters her life. Douglas, as usual, adds his own brand of male energy as the baseball star whose injuries have forced his retirement. Also, Charles Grodin is wonderful as the rejected lover.

A very sweet film
Jill Clayburgh is this film. It has a wonderful clamness to it and you can sit down and really enjoy watching it. Michael Douglas is great as the love interest. Those who are Yankee fans will love the shots of Yankee Stadium. ... 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

Description

Emmy Award-winner Melanie Mayron ("thirtysomething") gives what Leonard Malting calls "a warm, winning performance" as a young photographer attempting to make her way in big city Manhattan.Along the way she juggles relationships with her best girlfriend, and with three quite different men, played by Eli Wallach ("The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly"), Bob Balaban ("Absence of Malice") and Christopher Guest ("Best in Show").Claudia Weill ("It's My Turn") directs this touching and intimate look at how today's young women cope with their lives. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Melanie Mayron-Best Actress-Locarno Film Festival
Wonderful character study of a young woman alone for the first time, after her roomate gets married. Miss Mayron is a fabulous actress with alot of heart....I tried to rent this movie for over a year, but could never find it ....so finally bought it. I was not disapointed.....Melanie Mayron's performance stays with you...A simple story of a woman in New York and her journey through life.....making choices for the first time on her own...a beauitful story, a wonderful and honest actress...I love it....a bit dated....but Melanie shines all the way.....

ATTENTION ALL FANS OF THIRTYSOMETHING!
The main character, played by Melanie Mayron, is a photographer sharing a large funky appartment on the Upper West Side of New York with her best friend.
The best friend suddenly decides to get married & this seems to throw our main character into a period of soul searching. Who is she without her best friend? Can she handle the lonliness? The jealousy?
This film reminds me a lot of the Eric Rohmer films of the 'eighties...it's quite stark in it's style. Nothing much happens, but it is the ordinariness of the characters that draws us in.Though, in some ways, it is too stark...so plain are the cast, so grey is the scenery & sometimes, so mundane is the dialogue.
But 'Girlfriends' has a warmth & a charm that has always made me remember it & I think you will too if you like simple films about real people just going about their everyday lives.
Fans of 'Thirtysomething', who enjoyed Melanie Mayron's performance in that show will particularly like this film. There are a number of parallels between the two characters. She alone brings enormous humanity to this picture. ... 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 (2)

Unfortunately, a good movie.
I am very anti-abortion yet I feel the need to give credit to Ms. Weill. This is a great movie, taking away personal opinions of the issues in question.

This is a very brave movie, very cleverly directed.
Claudia Weill's talent is obvious in this risky film taking place partly in an abortion clinic. I definetely recommend this film to anyone (except kids)! ... 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