Video/DVD Review: Some Kind of Wonderful
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this film contains a fair amount
of objectionable language that the characters use in dramatic
moments, not casually. A tomboy character gets referred to as a
lesbian in a pejorative manner. There is some mild locker room
semi-nudity (girls in camisoles and underwear) that is more
wistful than sexual, as a tomboy character watches her pretty,
feminine rival get dressed. There are some teenagers that
smoke, with consequences, and some references to drinking,
although no characters become intoxicated. Part of the plot is
the threat of one character planning to beat up another, but he
is thwarted and no violence occurs. Parents should also be
aware that there are some "types" in the movie (like "punk,"
"rich girl," and "tomboy"), but that the movie goes past
clichés to treat them as people. There is very little
diversity in the cast -- the only black characters are members
of the permanent detention-room crowd.
Families can talk about what divides people in society, such as
money, behavior, or education, and how people work to get past
those divisions. Other issues might include how the
protagonists develop as people. Who is brave in this film? What
kinds of courage are there?
Keith (Eric Stoltz) and his best friend Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson) are outsiders at a California high school. They get by with their hobbies -- painting for Keith and drumming for Watts -- and with their friendship. They put up with the daily torments of punks, snobs, and family. Both are looking for something more, though. Watts wants her friendship with Keith to become a romance but Keith is interested in Amanda (Lea Thompson), a girl who is not rich, but pretty and popular. When Amanda's callow boyfriend jilts her for another girl, Keith asks her out. As the date approaches, Watts' jealousy starts to hurt her friendship with Keith, and Amanda and Keith both start to suspect one another's motives for going out. Is he just a social climber? Is she just getting back at her cheating boyfriend? It soon becomes clear that Amanda's former boyfriend is planning to resort to anything to win her back and send Keith back to the fringes of high school society.
SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL is typical of the teen movies of the 1980s like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast Club, an effective blend of raw emotion and familiar character types. The familiar-seeming love triangle forces all of the protagonists to re-think what they want from each other and the world and the best ways of reaching these goals. In the end, each has to demonstrate courage and understanding to get what is best for all of them.
Teenagers might find the movie a little silly and outdated in some ways (the clothes and music are very '80s) but the dialogue is very real and funny, and the cast turns in excellent performances, especially Eric Stoltz and Mary Stuart Masterson. Parents will have a chance to relive their high school days and hopefully start some conversations about challenges and triumphs of their own.
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