Writer: David Henrie, Sienna Aquilini, Bug Hall and Pepe Portillo
Director: David Henrie
Tribute bands and jukebox musicals are an enjoyable way to spend an evening. There comes a point, however, where the audience must accept there are no surprises – the songs are exactly as on the albums and there are no unexpected covers. This Is the Year is very much a tribute to 1980’s teen movies and, as such, offers just what could be expected.
At an early age Josh (Lorenzo James Henrie) becomes fixated upon 1980’s teen movies. His neighbour/ platonic best friend Molly (Vanessa Marano), with whom he works part time in a movie theatre, shares his rose-tinted passion going so far as to believe a first kiss should come with fireworks and a soaring soundtrack. Josh finds a new obsession; Zoey (Alyssa Jirrels) the cousin of Mickey (Jake Short) who regularly gives Josh a lift to school, has matured into a stunning blonde fantasy figure. However, she has a boyfriend Kale (Gregg Sulkin) with whom she intends to move to LA. In a desperate attempt to make a connection with Zoey, Josh lies about having tickets for Lovelytheband and, together with their friends, they set out on a road trip to the concert.
The teen movie genre is surprisingly flexible covering starry-eyed romance (Sixteen Candles), teen angst (The Breakfast Club), gross humour (Porkys) or satire (Heathers). Director David Henrie (who wrote the movie along with Sienna Aquilini, Bug Hall and Pepe Portillo) simply employs, rather than varies, the formula. Anyone who has seen a teen movie will be able to guess how events in This Is the Year will play out, it is pure nostalgia.
No attempt is made to update the generic formula to be relevant to a contemporary audience, who might not appreciate the charm of a plot in which one person objectifies another, or to reflect societal developments since the 1980’s when teen movies were at their peak. The characters and the soundtrack are all straight and white. Plot developments likewise are old-fashioned, surprisingly, considering the age of the characters, little use is made of mobile phones and photographs are taken with an Instant camera.
A theme of teen movies is, inevitably, the need to mature and challenge preconceptions. Even so, the central character of Josh is unappealingly shallow. His attraction to Zoey is purely physical to the extent he is unaware she has always had artistic inclinations. The character of Kale is condemned for being pretentious and adopting a British accent rather than for planning to set up house with someone who is, technically, still a schoolgirl. In a rare dramatic moment Zoey caustically asks Josh, had they managed a tryst, if he really believed it would have made any difference to her plans for the future.
The atmosphere is innocently sweet. When Molly accepts an invitation to a motel room one half expects she will face unwanted sexual advances or drugs rather than, as is the case, an embarrassing impromptu acoustic guitar singalong. No-one, including the character, suspects the reason Sebastian (director David Henrie), who offers a possible romance for Molly, looks exactly like the star of her favourite 1980’s movie is because he is probably the actor’s illegitimate child. Asked why she dramatically sneaks out of her house although her parents are not at home, Molly cheerfully replies she has always wanted to do so.
As with pantos, which hide saucy jokes for adults in the script, there are sight gags for audience members old enough to have seen the teen movies the first time around. Zoey’s entrance to school references a scene from the Teenage Dirtbag video/ Loser movie.
This Is the Year is an enjoyable way of spending an evening but a lack of ambition results in a film that is content to be a tribute act rather than an original piece of work.
Signature Entertainment presents This is the Year on Digital Platforms 2nd January.
