Ruby Sparks (2012)

The ultimate male fantasy. A struggling novelist writes about falling in love with a woman and it comes true. In fact, everything he writes about her comes true. Of course, with great power comes...happiness? I fail to see the setbacks here. It's a take on the Pygmalion myth, but I won't spoil it any further. I love this film because it celebrates the power of imagination, as solipsistic as it is.

4½ muses out of 5

Note: See also, Mannequin, for a counterpoint to this idea.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Dad's high strung. Mom is stressed out. The son's a nihilist. Grandpa is thorny. The uncle's depressed. The daughter is obsessed with making it to the beauty pageant in time. This is a perfect family road trip comedy in my eyes. No notes.

5 broken horns out of 5

Sideways (2004)

A depressed, failed writer accompanies his over-the-hill actor buddy on a middle-aged dude's trip to wine country for a week, in preparation of the latter's upcoming nuptials. All one wants to do is drink, while the other wants to sow his oats. This is a fantastic road trip comedy about depression, unlikely friendships, love, sex, and alcohol. A bottle review can't really do it justice.

5 spit buckets out of 5

Two Days (2003)

Paul Miller (Rudd) has lost the will to live and is planning to kill himself in two days. He hires a small documentary film crew to chronicle his final moments, in the hopes of making others understand. Meanwhile, nobody seems to take him seriously and thinks he's either full of shit or doing it for attention. There's a real risk for dramedies like this to become preachy or moralistic, but this is a grassroots style indie film that offers no easy answers. It's a bleak movie, but deals more realistically with the subject matter than it gets enough credit for.

3 walks on the beach out of 5

Tony (2026)

I knew nothing about chef and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain, other than the manner of his demise. This biopic shines a light on a sliver of his life as a directionless young man trying to get by, by any means possible. Aspiring to be a writer, and chasing a girl cross-country, he happens into a job at a Cape Cod restaurant that would change the trajectory of his life forever. What I admire about this film is how dirty and rough around the edges it is. It doesn't pass judgement on its sleazy characters and his dark past, and breathes an air of fresh authenticity. I honestly didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did.

4 buckets of water out of 5

Hot Summer Nights (2017)

A wayward youth becomes entrenched in the high-risk, high-reward business of drug trade during the raucous summer of 1991. I couldn't help but think of Risky Business, but this has its own stylish devices. It's a neo-noir drenched anti-coming-of-age drama that manages to do enough right to recommend.

3 incoming storms out of 5

Snack Shack (2024)

Set in 1991, two best friends hit on a money-making scheme at their local community pool food stand, where they both fall for the beautiful lifeguard that threatens to tear their summer plans apart. It's nice to see the return of raunchy R-rated coming-of-age films, although they had to set it as a period piece in order to truly get away with it. It reminded me a lot of Adventureland (which was also a period piece). As much as I enjoyed it, it made me profoundly sad on many levels. Mostly because this was not my experience of growing up, and having missed out on so many rites of passage as a teen that one can never get back. So all you do is live with that pain and regret throughout your adulthood. But hey, at least there are movies to show you what you're missing.

3½ hot dog messages out of 5

Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

Last day of summer camp, 1981, and the camp counselors get up to all sorts of mischief. Despite the title, this is far from softcore porn, it's just a very dumb parody of teen comedies in the vein of Meatballs. I did not care for this film the first time I saw it, but it's somewhat grown on me over the past 25 years. Some of my favorite jokes ended up being DVD extras which live on in my memory. It's known for being an early showcase of many comedic talents and has since grown a devoted cult following. As many times as I've seen this movie, I just can't get myself to love it, but I can't entirely dismiss it either.

Spawned two TV series 15 years later, both of which I liked more than the film.

2½ cans of vegetables out of 5

Eight Days a Week (1997)

Peter is in love with his childhood crush and next-door neighbor Erica (Keri Russell), and under the advice of his well-meaning grandfather, resolves to camp out on her front lawn all summer until she agrees to go out with him. Nowadays, this would just be called stalking or harassment, but believe me, it was much more innocent and endearing back in the '90s. I've always loved this film for its raunchy yet sweet sense of humor, even though it largely went unnoticed and panned by critics. Fuck 'em. It's an underrated gem in my book.

3½ neck braces out of 5

Girls Like Girls (2026)

"Girls like girls like boys do; nothing new"

As a cis straight male, it is very, very easy for me to relate to a gay woman. I guess you can call me an ally. I'm just a lesbian trapped in an ugly guy's body.

This might be the first movie based on a novel based on a music video based off an anthem to female love, all by the same artist, Hayley Kiyoko. It's set in the early days of the internet and AOL Instant Messenger (those sound effects still haunt me), at an age where feelings are brand new and coming out still felt taboo. Coming-of-age might be my favorite genre because it allows me to experience something that I felt I missed out on, during the most important and seminal part of one's life. Film can be a gateway to experiencing first love all over again, for the first time, over and over. That combination of nostalgia and innocence never fails to stir me. The jealousy, the heartache, the pangs of raw emotion, of falling for someone who is emotionally unavailable. The most relatable feelings for me. I can't say for certain why this movie moved me so. Maybe it's just capturing an era so precisely. Like trapping lightning in a bottle.

4 "olive juice" out of 5

My First Summer (2020)

After her reclusive mother drowns in a reservoir, a heavily sheltered rural girl bonds with the only witness to the incident who agrees to keep her identity a secret. Together, they find consolation in each other's company over the quiet solitude of the summer in this gentle Australian coming of age drama. I adore the simplicity of this film and how it plays out in a dreamlike haze. They exist in their own world outside of space and time. It's rather sweet in its naïveté. 

3½ purple promises out of 5

Foxfire (1996)

Four high school girls bond over delinquency and rebel against the patriarchy when a gutsy, exciting drifter (Angelina Jolie) comes to town, helping them to stand up against the bullies and the abusers. It's a gritty coming-of-age drama that fumbles the ball in the last act, but still manages to leave a lasting impact.

3½ tit tats out of 5

Now and Then (1995)

In 1970, four friends pledge a pact to always be there for each other. 25 years later, they meet up and reminisce on the summer that brought them together. Everyone is terribly cast as the adults, although the biggest injustice to me is that they predicted that Christina Ricci would grow up to be Rosie O'Donnell. Thankfully, we spend the bulk of the story back in the past, centering around the friendship between 12-year-old girls who are obsessed with looks, boys and boob size, which isn't particularly deep. It's basically Stand By Me aimed towards girls, which is perfectly fine with me, although it lacks the gravitas associated with the former. The stakes are lower, but the sentiment is real.

3 friendship bracelets out of 5

Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain (1995)

These days, the only thing that powers me through each miserable day after another is nostalgia. The endless search to hold onto what makes me feel most like myself. That's all that means anything anymore in my broken little brain. I have no sense of objectivity left at this point, but who gives a shit?

This is a coming of age adventure tale which feels like Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer transposed to modern times. Set in 1980, a city girl moves out to the sticks where she befriends a tomboy and they set out in search of mythic treasure. Two kids going off on an adventure together; what could be better? 

As a kid, I wanted nothing more than for Anna Chlumsky and Christina Ricci to be my friends. No, it never happened, and the film is not quite as amazing as I remember, but it does capture that feeling of youth and innocence long past.

3 reflections out of 5

The Man in the Moon (1991)

Dani is a 14-year-old farm girl growing up in the 1950s who is obsessed with Elvis and jealous of her sister's burgeoning transition into womanhood, as she experiences her own growing pains. An auspicious debut performance from Reese Witherspoon who embodies the spirit of that age. I love the setting of this movie, the way it's shot and the lessons it imparts. It's a bit schmaltzy at times, but it has a quiet, relaxed pace which transports you to another time. There are scenes in this film that have stuck around in my mind for decades.

3½ tractors out of 5