Coming of Age

What better way of thinking about one’s coming of age is there than looking at the films that made this “life passage” fun and fashionable. Well over 200 films can be categorized as such. I must admit that I am a huge movie fan. Oddly, I believe that this personality trait is somewhat genetic. My grandfather on my mother’s side (a gentleman I never met due to his death when my mother was only 13 years old), owned two movie theaters in Santa Monica, California. My mother never missed a movie or a premier when it was held at one of his theaters. Her massive collection of autograph books dating back to the stars of silent film is impressive and nostalgic. But, with respect to my generation, there are four or five movies that not only stand out in my mind, but exemplify my own coming of age experiences.

Sixteen Candles was the 1984 John Hughes coming of age film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling, and Anthony Michael Hall. The plot was rather sweet and simple. It involved an awkward high school student, "Sam" Baker, who struggled to get through the day of her 16th birthday, which her entire family forgot because of her older sister’s pending wedding which was planned for the following day. Sam was also obsessed in a harmless sort of way with the ever so popular and attractive senior, Jake Ryan. The usual and expected ensued, accurately capturing the real experiences, feelings and emotions of most 16 year old high school girls. What caught my particular attention in this film was the running subplot which involved a geeky freshman, Ted, who continually, but unsuccessfully tried to bed his love interest, Sam, to satisfy a bet with his friends. I remember being pursued by one of my older brother’s best friends for at least two years of my high school career (albeit not on the basis of a bet). He too was never successful in the pursuit, but in retrospect, I still wonder why. He was cute, smart, funny and from a very wealthy family, (and not necessarily in that order). Nonetheless, if Cronenburg, when discussing psychoanalytic theory was correct in stating “The power of cinema comes in its power to duplicate the real world,” then by God, he found me in a picturesque classroom on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. I wish I would have been as lucky as Molly Ringwald in landing the role of Samantha Baker.

In 1987 Hughes wrote another successful teen drama, Some Kind of Wonderful , a romance film starring Eric Stoltz, Lea Thompson, and Mary Stuart Masterson. The film was considered a cult classic of the “Brat Pack” era, due to its strong themes that were seen in previous Hughes stories. The film is set against the strict social hierarchy of an American public high school – not at all unlike the ones that I attended in the 60’s. I took away a feeling from this film that true love, real emotional love where two individuals share many of the same interests, background characteristics, and dreams, always prevails. I still believe that today. And, much like my wise doctor (who shall remain nameless) recently tried to convey to me, I don’t “need” a soul mate, but it certainly is wonderful to finally discover that you definitely “want” that person.

American Graffiti was a 1973 comedy / drama film co-written/directed by George Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul LeMat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford. Set in Modesto, California in 1962, this film was a study of the wonderful 60’s cultures that many of us baby boomers had the privilege of being a part, including hot cars, Saturday night cruising, “make out” sessions, and totally cool rock n’ roll. Told as a series of vignettes and a major one-night blast, the film is a terrific portrait of teenage life in the early 1960s. Ah yes, the good old days. The cooler the car, the more I just had to be with the guy. I lived for music of the 60’s, and tried to memorize the words of every love song that touched my heart. Having watched this film more times than I can remember, I often wondered who was spying on me in real life – of course, with many embellishments!

Let’s not forget the 1999 trilogy spawned by American Pie, a comedy film which ultimately produced two sequels: American Pie 2 (2001) and American Wedding (2003), featuring the courtship and marriage of the original characters. The original film concentrated on four boys who made a pact to lose their virginity before high school graduation. The film's title refers to one of the funniest scenes in film history. One of the lead characters is caught masturbating with a pie after being told that third base felt like "warm apple pie". Wow…. I’m not so sure I ever really understood the significance of that metaphor when I was in high school. I pride myself on staying a virgin during those years. But, ultimately I did get the point! I had grown up very fond of my grandmother’s apple pie over the years, especially when served a la mode. By the time I was a junior in college I totally got it from a female perspective. I wonder if, for me, the film would have made more sense faster if the focus of the character’s affection had been a dark chocolate devil’s food cake.

What high school girl could not relate to “Jenna” in 13 Going On 30. This was a 2004 American romantic comedy starring Jennifer Garner. The film concerned a 13-year-old girl (Jenna) skipping 17 years of her life, and waking up as a successful magazine editor in the future. She wished to be 30 in hopes that it would help her overcome her unpopularity at school. In addition, she desperately wanted to join the “Six Chicks,” a school clique. When the transformation actually happened, Jenna especially loved her brand new breasts (which did not necessitate plastic surgery). She was smart, attractive and successful, but not altogether happy. I spent most of my years in high school wanting to get it behind me. (My breasts were not that bad, so that was not a real concern for me). It wouldn’t be honest to say that I was unpopular, but I never hung with the cheerleaders. I dreamed of having a successful career in business and traveling the country with a high profile. My college experience was not altogether different. However, at Purdue University in the late 60’s and early 70’s, men were plentiful and I found an adorable boyfriend with little trouble. By my junior year I finally realized that I preferred doing engineers over studying engineering, so I changed my major to the study of nutritional sciences. This major seemed to take less time away from my new social life. After graduation it took 11 long years of hard work at large companies before finally settling into the career I had always wanted… traveling around the country with a big ego and a profile people recognized.

There you have it! Enough about film, and its influence on and relationship to my coming of age. I guess you could say I was a fairly normal teenager …the usual drama, with the standard highlights and typical low points. College, both undergraduate and graduate experiences, prepared me for a stable and lucrative career, and my regrets in the first third of my life are few. Boring??? Probably. But, I could be leaving out some of the more provocative details!