During this summer season in which bombastic blockbusters about superheroes, zombies and giant robots abound, a few smaller movies of note have attempted to counterprogram against the cacophony. Two of the most acclaimed of these, ‘The Kings of Summer’ and ‘The Way, Way Back’, are coming-of-age stories about young teenagers trying to find their place in the world. This puts us in mind of some of our other favorite examples of the popular coming-of-age genre. Share your picks with us in today’s Roundtable.
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Luke Hickman<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Most coming-of-age films don’t appeal to me. All too often, they’re full of clich\u00e9s. Very little of what happens to the youngster central characters is interesting to me. That’s why I love Cameron Crowe’s autobiographical approach to the dramatic sub-genre. ‘Almost Famous<\/a>‘ features everything that I wish other coming-of-age films had: comedy, original characters (how awesome are the band members, not to mention William’s mom?), teenage angst (we’ve all had a Penny Lane in our lives at some point, right?), great music (both original and existing), memorable moments (does it get any greater than the “Tiny Dancer” or airport scenes?), a solid story (you can’t tell me that you wouldn’t want to tour with your favorite band), a fantastic screenplay (which earned an Academy Award), and perfect directing. There’s not a single Cameron Crowe film that I don’t love, but ‘Almost Famous’ carries an extra dose of greatness. Even better is Crowe’s “Untitled” Director’s Cut. If you haven’t seen or own that, I highly recommend it.<\/p>\n Mike Attebery<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I believe McSweeney’s<\/em> kills writers. That smug press encourages authors to produce twee little books that make me sick to my stomach. Worse yet, they occasionally do this with previously terrific writers. Nick Hornby is the perfect example. After he broke out with the memoir ‘Fever Pitch<\/a>‘, he quickly followed that success with two of the most sublimely perfect novels ever<\/em>: ‘High Fidelity<\/a>‘ and ‘About a Boy<\/a>‘. (Seriously, even if you’ve seen the movies, read the books. They’re the most refreshing bits of writing you’ll ever come across.) Unfortunately, Hornby then started churning out some truly abysmal garbage, the majority of it released by McSweeney’s<\/em>. I think it’s pretty telling that the books mentioned above have all resulted in movies, while nothing he’s written since has been adapted for the screen.<\/p>\n The British ‘Fever Pitch’ was OK. ‘High Fidelity’ was brought to America yet retained every bit of its magic. And then there’s ‘About a Boy<\/a>‘, which is just about the most perfect coming-of-age movie around. It’s witty, funny and dark. (A failed suicide attempt is a major turning point.) Better yet, this is really two coming-of-age stories, as it’s about both a young boy learning to stand on his own in the world, and a grown man finally realizing that it’s high time he acted<\/em> liked a man. Hugh Grant has never been better. If you haven’t seen it, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Go watch it, please.<\/p>\n Tom Landy<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Whenever I hear the term “coming-of-age,” something in the back of my mind always whispers softly, “Do you want to go see a dead body?<\/em>” That is then followed by, “I dropped… the comb.<\/em>” Rob Reiner’s ‘Stand by Me<\/a>‘, based on Stephen King’s novella ‘The Body’, will always be the epitome of coming-of-age movies for me. The story takes place during the 1950s and is about four teenage boys who set out on a journey to find and recover the remains of one of their peers. Their little walkabout, however, will end up changing them forever, and when they eventually return back home to Castle Rock, part of their childhoods will be left behind. Powerful, emotional and exceptionally funny, ‘Stand by Me’ is a fantastic film and one of the few that gets better with every viewing.<\/p>\n M. Enois Duarte<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n