Flipped - 3 smiles

“Flipped” is Rob Reiner’s coming-of-age tale about first love that’s heartfelt and real. That the narration shifts between Juli Baker (Madeline Carroll) and Bryce Loski (Callan McAuliffe), the adolescent protagonists, gives this film a unique quality. Their distinct differences make for a meaningful, and often hilarious, narrative. Juli has been madly in love with Bryce, the boy who lives across the street, since second grade, but he doesn’t feel the same. Bryce is pretty much indecisive about everything while Juli is willing to take a stand for what she believes. Her commentary is more analytical and insightful, clearly indicating the kind of person she is. Some of the pleasure in watching this film is identifying with Juli and watching Bryce grow.

Reiner explained in a recent discussion that he knew he wanted to make this adolescent novel, written by Wendelin Van Draanen, into a movie as soon as he read it. Primarily it’s about first love and the powerful and confusing feelings that go along with it, but it’s also about the importance of being yourself. Bryce doesn’t really know who he is and what’s going on and his father (Anthony Edwards) is too angry to be a good role model. Bryce is lucky that his grandfather (John Mahoney) teaches him about who he is and, more importantly, the kind of person he can be. Juli has a loving family that instills in her the right values. She has a strong understanding of who she is and she knows what she wants. Set in the late 50s and early 60s, “Flipped” also has a wonderful sound track, including “Pretty Little Angel Eyes” by Curtis Lee, “One Fine Day” by the Chiffons, and “Let It Be Me” by Phil Everly. Nostalgic? Certainly. Universal in its appeal? You bet. Someone who’s 80 can relate as well as someone who’s 12. See “Flipped.” You’ll enjoy it. 8/6/10