JUST LOOKING

Year: 1999
USA: Sony Pictures Classics
Cast: Ryan Merriman, Gretchen Mol, Joey Franquinha, Peter Onorati, Amy Braverman, Ilana Levine, Rich Licata, Patti LuPone, John Bolger, Robert Weil, Alex Sobol, Bart DeFinna, Christopher Spitzer, Allie Spiro Winn
Director: Jason Alexander
Country: USA
USA: 97 mins
USA Release Date: 13 October 2000 (Limited Release)


Synopsis

Lenny (Ryan Merriman) is a typical 14-year-old from the Bronx, Like every teenage boy, he is totally fascinated with the concept of sex. But the year is 1955, and Lenny is too scared to actually "do it." So he dedicates his summer vacation to the next best thing. Seeing two other people do it.

Easier said than done. Caught in, the act of spying, his mother (Patti LuPone) and stepfather ship him off to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle in "the country", Queens. His plan looks like a bust and his summer seems destined for boredom, until he meets a whole new group of friends, young teens who have a "sex club." They don't do it; they just talk about it, but these kids have a lot more interesting information than was available in the Bronx.

Then he meets Hedy (Gretchen Mol); a nurse, twice his age, and gorgeous - in a former life she modelled for bra ads - Lenny is both smitten and inspired, and his goal for the summer kicks into high gear. Lenny's plan to "witness an act of love" becomes an obsession, which turns a summer vacation into an adventure that will change his life forever,

"Just Looking" takes place at a time when parents would rather spell S-E-X than say it in front of their kids, Times have changed, but the adolescent fascination with sex has not. This is an "ageless" coming-of-age comedy that will ring as true for the teens of today as it will for their Baby Boomer Moms and Dads.