Alicia Erian’s semi-autobiographical novel about a young girl coming of age has been brought to the screen by writer/director Alan Ball, whose “American Beauty” and “Six Feet Under” explored the darker side of sunny suburban streets. This is the story of Jasira, the daughter of divorced parents, an American mother and a Christian Lebanese immigrant father. When Jasira begins to go through puberty, her mother’s live-in boyfriend responds inappropriately. Jasira’s mother packs her off to go live with her father in a sterile Houston suburb. Jasira has to cope with a range of reactions to her changing body from the bratty boy next door she babysits, who calls her ugly names, to his father (Aaron Eckhart), who treats her both as seductress and prey, her father, who seems horrified and angry but spends most of his time with his girlfriend, and a classmate who wants to be her boyfriend.

Summer Bishil gives a lovely, nuanced performance as Jasira, showing us that she is not just a passive victim but someone who is intrigued by the sense of power she feels from the effect her womanhood has on people. She is drawn to the photos in her neighbor’s Hustler magazine not because she is gay but because she sees in them a strength and freedom that intrigues her and makes her want to explore for herself. It is good to see a young girl in a movie who is allowed to be complicated and have complicated relationships. At least this film respects the power Jasira has as a person and a young woman. It also raises the cultural and racial clashes more thoughtfully than most films. There’s a nice moment when a confused staffer from Jasira’s Texas high school can’t understand why this brown-skinned girl does not speak Spanish. But It is very hard to watch at times, and there are moments when you can’t help wondering if the act of filming and watching is not itself exploitative or abusive.

As we expect from Alan Ball, the performances are breathtaking in their courage and sensitivity, especially Peter Macdissi as Jasira’s father and Aaron Eckhart as the neighbor, whose status as a reservist about to be called to the Gulf War lends an individual and societal element of being on the brink of chaos. In smaller roles, Maria Bello as the narcissistic mother, Lynn Collins as the father’s warm-hearted girlfriend, and Toni Collette as a concerned neighbor with some experience in crossing cultural borders create characters who feel completely real within the context of a story that tries and often succeeds in transcending its particulars for a story about the personal and political struggle to come of age.

Last week, I wrote about movies with all-star casts. Some movies have all-star casts — retrospectively. When they are made, the actors are not well known but soon afterward many or most of them become superstars. One classic example is a movie that is (incredibly) celebrating its 25th anniversary, “The Outsiders.”
One of three movies based on books by teen favorite author S. E. Hinton to be filmed in 1982-83, “The Outsiders” is the story of rival gangs the Greasers and the Socs (for “socials”). Director Francis Ford Coppola, who also cast a group of future superstars in “The Godfther,” put together an extraordinarily talented collection of young actors including Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Maccio, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estavez, and Diane Lane. Hinton herself appears briefly as a nurse and Coppola’s daughter Sofia, who would become famous behind the camera for “Lost in Translation,” appears as a child.

It’s not a good movie, but it is a lot of fun. It’s a fantasy with three things going for it: it does not take itself too seriously, it does take the action scenes seriously, and it includes both of the most popular martial arts movie stars working today, Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Michael Angarano plays Jason, a generic loner-teen role that does not give him a chance to show off the impeccable comic timing he displayed as Elliot in “Will and Grace.” He seems to spend most of his time hanging out in Chinatown, renting kung fu movies and talking to Old Hop the ancient proprietor of the pawnshop (Jackie Chan under old-age make-up). When some bullies attack them, Hop hands Jason the mysterious staff and asks him to return it to its rightful owner. And Jason wakes up in ancient China. He quickly figures out how to understand Chinese, and meets up with Lu Yan, a tipsy immortal (Chan, in a nod to his early “Drunken Master” hits). They embark on a journey to return the staff to its owner, the Monkey King (Jet Li), who has been turned into a statue by the evil Jade Warlord. And they are joined by Golden Sparrow (Liu Yifei), who plans to kill the Jade Warlord to avenge the death of her parents, and Silent Monk (Li again), who first has to fight Lu Yan just because that is why we all bought tickets. “We can kill each other when it’s over,” they agree, deciding to work together to help Jason return the staff to the Monkey King.

From 1982-1987 actress Shelly Duvall produced and hosted a series of fairy tales on Showtime, starring some of Hollywood’s top performers. Christopher Reeve and Matthew Broderick played very charming princes, and princesses included Bernadette Peters as Sleeping Beauty, Susan Sarandon as Beauty, and “Flashdance’s” Jennifer Beals as Cinderella. The costumes and sets were low-budget but very creative, inspired in part by the classic fairy tale illustrations of Maxfield Parrish and Howard Pyle.
The series has just been re-released on DVD and I have FOUR copies to give away! This is such a special prize I want to make sure everyone has a chance to participate. So post a comment, telling me which is your family’s favorite fairy tale and why. The most imaginative and creative responses submitted by the end of the day Sept 30 will win the box set of the complete Faerie Tale Theatre series. U.S. addresses only, please. I look forward to hearing from you!
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“Baby Mama” is not just smart, warm, funny, and romantic, it is an especially welcome dose of XX chromosome humor in an Apatow-flooded XY era.

Tina Fey (“30 Rock”) plays Kate, a single woman who has achieved a great deal of professional success as an executive in an organic food company but at age 37 finds herself overcome with longing for a baby. When her doctor (John Hodgman, the PC in Mac commercials) tells her that it is almost impossible for her to have a child, she hires a surrogate (“Saturday Night Live’s Amy Poehler as Angie). Shortly after she becomes pregnant, Angie leaves her husband and Kate, worried about Angie’s health and hygiene habits, eager to share the prenatal experience, and something of a micro-manager, invites her to move in. Think The Odd Couple with Lamaze class. We know that as must always happen in movies Kate will teach Angie about responsibility and Angie will teach Kate to loosen up and have a little fun. But it is done with a light touch and a sense of humor about itself, Fey and Poehler have an easy warmth and chemistry, and it feels good to see a buddy comedy about women.

Writer/director Michael McCullers (of “Austin Powers” and neglected gem Undercover Brother) wisely lets the characters lead the story, avoiding the usual wacky plot contrivances. Kate continues to be very successful at her job, and when Angie meets Kate’s boss, there are none of those tiresome and painful mix-ups/inadvertent insults/clumsy accidents that have to be corrected so that everyone can agree how much happier they are. Even better, McCullers fills the screen with top comic talent so that every encounter Kate and Angie have is, well, pregnant with possibilities that, well, deliver. Sigourney Weaver is magnificent as Chaffee Bicknell, the steely operator of the surrogacy company. When Kate expresses surprise at the $100,000 price tag — “It costs more to have someone born than to have someone killed,” Bicknell purrs sympathetically without losing a beat “It takes longer.”

Dax Shepard is unabashedly trashy as Angie’s husband (“common law!”), Maura Tierney adds warmth as Kate’s sister, and the always-impeccable Holland Taylor is right on target as their mother. Two poor choices in character design are saved by two superb choices in casting — Greg Kinnear somehow makes a dumb running joke about how his juice bar is nothing like the nationwide chain sound not all all whiny but somehow slightly mystified in a confident but sensitive way. And Will Forte as Kate’s ex elevates some sub-par dialogue about his perfect life. Other SNL-ers include Siobhan Fallon Hogan as the birthing instructor whose speech impediment just makes her sound even more inclusive and elemental and Fred Armisen as a stroller salesman. The wonderful Romany Malco is a highlight as Kate’s doorman. And I won’t spoil the surprise and give away the name of the star who shows up as Kate’s boss, who says things like “I am going to reward you with five minutes of uninterrupted eye contact.” I’ll just say he’s a great choice and does justice to that gray ponytail.

Fey is terrific; we’re on her side all the way. But it is worth seeing the movie a second time just to watch Poehler. As we first see her nervously dropping a little curtsy to the doorman on her way into Kate’s building, we understand that she is someone who may have had no education or opportunity but who has some sense of a bigger world than the one she has known. In one of her best scenes, she pretends to be Kate’s sister and we can see her mind working as she tries very hard to do what she thinks will be most supportive of Kate but also begins to get a different sense of her own capabilities and possibilities. Like Angie, this movie has some surprising depth and heart.