Baby It's You (1983)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

John Sayles

Writers:

Amy Robinson (story)
John Sayles (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 March 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

There's the first one. There's the right one. And there's the one you never forget.

Plot:

In 1966 New Jersey, Jill Rosen, a frustrated high schooler, is intrigued by an enigmatic new student known only as the Sheik...

Plot Keywords:

College | New Jersey | Student | High School | Teen

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Rosanna Arquette	...	Jill Rosen
Vincent Spano	...	Albert 'Sheik' Capadilupo
Joanna Merlin	...	Mrs. Rosen
Jack Davidson	...	Dr. Rosen
Nick Ferrari	...	Mr. Capadilupo
Dolores Messina	...	Mrs. Capadilupo
Leora Dana	...	Miss Vernon, Teacher
Bill Raymond	...	Mr. Ripeppi, Teacher (as William Joseph Raymond)
Sam McMurray	...	Mr. McManus, Teacher
Liane Alexandra Curtis	...	Jody, High School Girl (as Liane Curtis)
Claudia Sherman	...	Beth, High School Girl
Marta Kober	...	Debra, High School Girl
Tracy Pollan	...	Leslie, College Girl
Rachel Dretzin	...	Shelly, College Girl
Susan Derendorf	...	Chris, College Girl

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Iceland:L | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Double Play

Trivia:

Film debut of Liane Alexandra Curtis.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When Sheik and Jill leave on their trip to the New Jersey shore, they cross a large bridge that has the slogan "Trenton Makes - The World Takes" on it. This bridge actually takes you from Trenton into Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

Quotes:

Albert 'Sheik' Capadilupo: When we were in high school...
Jill Rosen: [shouts] We're not in high school any more.

Movie Connections:

References "Peyton Place" (1964)

Soundtrack:

The E Street Shuffle

Hmm...

"Baby, It's You" is a love story about a young woman named Jill (Rosanna Arquette), who grows up in New Jersey during the sixties and meets a troubled and troublesome swindler named Sheik (Vincent Spano). They go out together during highschool but once college days come, Jill forgets Sheik and he becomes a Frank Sinatra impersonator for a fancy restaurant in Miami. But after he is booted from the joint and drives all the way back to New Jersey to be with her, she admits she no longer has feelings for him.

Movies like this can be a bit hard to review because on a technical level they are worthless. Sometimes, though, the film itself is fun to watch--I am a sucker for old eighties comedies, the decade of low-budget comedies that disappeared into a vault somewhere and air on television at three o'clock in the morning. "Baby, It's You," however, isn't even that fun to watch, mainly because it goes nowhere for its two-hour running time. Sure, it kept my interest, and there's no doubt that it is a pretty intriguing film, but it's been done before in a better fashion--and all in all, "Baby, It's You" likes to repeat itself. A lot.

Things don't move nearly as quickly as they should. The setup for the movie takes forever--and then we find out the setup wasn't a setup at all. I left wondering, What IS the point of this movie? The core message is pretty simple--a lovebird couple seperate when college comes around and one of them loses the attraction for the other. But "Baby, It's You" doesn't do this like it should--it takes side routes into too many subplots. For example, at first Jill hates Sheik. Then she goes out with him. Then she breaks up with him. Then he kidnaps her, holds a gun to her head and tells her to say she's sorry. Then they're back together. Then Sheik commits a robbery and almost gets caught. Then they seperate. Then...

What is the point? Why the stupid subplots? Why would Jill love a ruthless punk who stalks and kidnaps her? This is a depressing movie, not because of what happens, but simply because it goes nowhere. "Baby, It's You" is strangely intriguing, but as a film it should have gone through a much greater thought process before they decided to put it on the big screen. After all, there is a reason that it is one of the most unknown films of all time.

I did find some things in "Baby, It's You" interesting, such as how Sheik corrupts Jill, but then when he turns around to be with her again, she acts like he did early on in the film. For example: Sheik is a rich playboy criminal in the beginning who cheats on Jill and so on and so forth. Jill doesn't want to "do it" with Sheik. But after college, she turns into the promiscuous one and he turns into the moral one. She becomes a drunk, depressed soul. Is that the point of the movie? That hanging around the wrong crowd can rub off on you? Or is the point that people who fall in love aren't always in love? Or is it just meant to be a depressing love story? Who cares. And I'm not stating that two-word sentence as a question.

2.5/5 stars.

- John Ulmer