Truly great “coming-of-age” movies may only hit our screens once in a blue moon, but when they do, they have the potential to make for some of the most life affirming 2 hours (or so) you could spend. Providing a break from the recent disappointments, such movies as Easy A and Superbad proved you can combine hilarity with heart-warming love scenes, all without being too cheesy or replacing authenticity with an obviously fabricated sense of reality. It’s a shame such films are so rare, as they can be quite incredibly special when they are done right.
One woman hoping to join the (not so long) list of successful creators of these tales is 25-year-old Leah Rachel. She’s never written a full length feature before, but that hasn’t stopped Mandate Pictures (Juno, Stranger Than Fiction, 50/50) from picking up her script for distribution. It is pitched as “coming-of-age comedy about the delusion, desperation, and absolute euphoria of first loves.” Sounds like every coming-of-age movie ever. The important thing with these types of movies is not really the synopsis, and perhaps not even the setting, but the execution.
Here’s to hoping Rachel is a writer who knows how to mix sharp, witty dialogue with touching moments and producer Dan Jinks (Milk, American Beauty) seems to think she has what it takes. Talking about her talent, he said “the freshest and funniest writer I’ve come across in some time. Her script has the potential to become a touchstone movie for a generation.” His description of her is perfect, giving me a fair amount of faith that this project could do to this generation what Almost Famous and American Graffiti did to previous ones. Hopefully it finds a director who can handle it, perhaps Jason Reitman?
The movie is entitled The Young, The Hot, And The Bothered and shall presumably release sometime in 2013. Hopefully the titular reference to Sergio Leone‘s classic spaghetti western is one of many. [Deadline]
Are you a fan of coming-of-age movies? Who do you think would be best to direct this project?