Jon Kasdan's latest creation, The First Time, which held up big at Sundance earlier this year, was a film I knew I would enjoy. It had all the perfect ingredients for my "kind" of movie. But, it wasn't enjoyable for those guilty pleasure reasons. It was just a really, really good film at its core.
The film plays out an all-too-familiar scenario in which a boy (Dylan O'Brien) and a girl (Britt Robertson) have a meet-cute of sorts and end up falling for one another over a long weekend. But what was unfamiliar territory was the script. The dialogue was decidedly much more realistic and true to actual teenagers than anything I've seen or read in years. And while the film spends a great deal developing these characters and their growing feelings for one another, it also dives deep into the thought process and aftermath of having sex for the very first time - all in a very honest way.
O'Brien has been starring as Tyler Posey's sidekick in MTV's Teen Wolf reincarnation for two seasons now after being plucked from YouTube obscurity. And this film really sets up his leading man status with such a genuine and inherently endearing portrayal of a lovestruck teenager. On paper, Britt Robertson is a more "seasoned" actor, having appeared in several leading television roles (all of which I maintain were actually really good shows), but her brilliant quirkiness and comedic timing were not overpowering or off-putting. In fact, I think it's safe to say these two complimented each other in the best ways.
The fast-talking, fumbly comedy is there at all the right moments while the chemistry between O'Brien and Robertson carries the film flawlessly. Where the dialogue and situations could seem somewhat contrived, the acting never falters. The First Time was one of my favorite films to watch this year.
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