Down To You

As teen comedies go, Kris Isacsson's debut is more mature than the rest of the pack it runs with, dealing with the fear of growing old rather than the excitement of being young. Fun-loving Imogen (a passionate Julia Stiles -- finally a teen heroine whose breasts aren't the center of attention) and the more serious Al (Freddie Prinze Jr.) fall in love at college. Successful teen flicks give kids the chance both to laugh at how things are and to dream about how things could be; usually, though, they end up as palatable stereotypes. Imogen and Al, however, live a life like no other college couple -- by their first year together they've already worried about pregnancy, cohabitation, marriage, and spicing up their sex life. In an attempt to regain their teenness, they decide to go to a party, but instead of letting loose at a kegger, they end up sipping wine in a rich friend's swanky Manhattan apartment. The teensomethings become thirtysomethings and the laughs get pushed aside by soul-searching conversation. Instead of providing fantasy fodder for romantic teenage girls, Down to You is more likely to remind those girls' parents of their relationship just before they got married. And the last thing teenagers want is to be like their parents. At the Harbour Mall, Holiday, Showcase, Tri-Boro, and Woonsocket cinemas.
-- Jumama Farouky