The 12-year-old Eliza Dushku steals the show as a shy child who worships the high-school gal (Juliette Lewis) who lives across the road in this pleasing 1961-set coming-of-age drama that manages to ring a few changes on an old theme. When Lewis falls for a lad (C Thomas Howell) from the wrong side of town, Dushku acts as a go-between in their affair. If there are wobbles in Craig Bolotin's writing, and a lack of ambition and pace in his debut directing effort, this is still a surprisingly nice and sometimes fresh little film that is easy to watch and appreciate.  For once Lewis and Howell are exactly right, defying their far from obvious casting.


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