I came across this film on one of the movie channels a few weeks back, and was immediately bowled over by the seamless dialog and simple, refreshing story about adolescent love. What I particularly enjoyed about this movie was how the roles for the children were actually quite adult in theme, and watching all of them interact. The characters are extremely bright schoolchildren, as well as wise beyond their years, but yet not pretentious or self-conscious of it. Had the makers of this film used lesser actors the dialog exchanged between the characters of Daniel and Lauren would have been laughable and cheesy, but given the actors' command and understanding of the script, the movie is credible. I was also pleased to see such smart roles written for children, not to mention that the characters are far better role models than the characters they have now in movies. Given the smart, young girl actors they had in the '70s (Jodie Foster, Tatum O'Neal, Diane Lane), one wonders what's happened since - no way a movie this well thought out could be made now, or at least be made without it being ruined with some horrible casting choice like Hilary Duff or the insipid Lindsay Lohan. Overall, "A Little Romance" is a great film that has everything working for it, and is a great treat to watch with anyone, anytime.
Review of A Little Romance
