Firstborn

Nobody seems to like this drama, probably because it IS at times very depressing and downbeat...and the ending DOES tie things up a little too neatly after going over the top melodramatically. But the movie is worth seeing for several reasons. It's extremely well-acted by all (especially Christopher Collet and a rare dramatic turn from Teri Garr)and the early parts of the story ring powerfully true about the loneliness, confusion and hurt that comes with being a family torn apart by divorce. The scenes involving the kids and their friends and their dealings at school also feel fresh and very real.

Solidly directed by Michael Apted, "Firstborn" is an affecting 1980's drama that, despite its flaws, will stay with you long after you see it.

This is not, nor was it intended to be, a happy movie.

Wendy, (a great performance by Teri Garr), is a very lonely and extremely vulnerable divorced Mother of two boys. She is wooed and won by Sam, (Peter Weller), a great guy and perfect husband/father replacement. Wendy's oldest son, Jake, discovers a secret which Wendy chooses to downplay rather than jeopardize her relationship with Sam.

What should Jake do?

Not all life situations are happy situations. The script is a strong and realistic rendering of a very believable situation. For a happy movie, I recommend "Mary Poppins".

That's probably reducing the effectiveness of this good (albeit dated) family melodrama from director Michael Apted. An early role from Robert Downey Jr. (his Melba Toast one-liner is memorable and classic dry Downey Jr.), Peter Weller, who at the time was best known as the likeable offbeat hero Buckaroo Banzai. And the debut of the less annoying of the two Coreys (Haim).

In Firstborn, Weller plays Sam, a leech of a character who charms his way into the life of Wendy, a recent divorcee with two high school sons and desperate to find a new man to fill the role of stepdad. Wendy is played by Teri Garr, coming off two highly successful comedies (Tootsie and Mr. Mom) and apparently eager to show her dramatic chops. She does a good job, too...the proud mother of an honor roll student and his much less mature (and not just because of his age) kid brother.

Sam floats in and is aloof at first with the two sons Jake and Brian. Then he tries to win their affection by grilling out with the family (cooking with Mesquite!), tossing a baseball around with them, and buying them unexpected ritzy gifts like a moped for Jake. Sam talks about opening a restaurant too. Where is his money coming from?

Jake senses something is off with the guy. As more is revealed about Sam's shadiness, Jake starts faltering in school, failing tests and getting into heated arguments with his teachers. Even his friendships with Iron Man and Carrie Bradshaw (another early career role in the movie - Sarah Jessica Parker) turn sour. Jake then discovers Sam's source of income and the movie turns into a domestic thriller.

This movie was the first produced by Sherry Lansing at Paramount. The finale involves a fight in a suburban home that foretells a future movie she would produce with Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. Even little Brian (Corey Haim) comes to the rescue with a bat.

Out of all of the actors, the most memorable performances have to be from Christopher Collet, as Jake, and Weller, as the shady and eventually dangerous Sam. Collet would later star in the underrated sci fi comedy "The Manhattan Project," and then apparently drop off the face of the Earth. Weller became RoboCop.

Garr is effective and if she seems weak in the film, it's because her character initially is weak. Even Haim is quite good as the little brother, and would appear two years later in the underrated high school romance "Lucas" before teaming up with the other Corey for his skyrocketing popularity, and eventual downfall.

This is a decent drama that plays a bit like a TV movie, but with the success of "Ordinary People" and other early '80s dramas focused on American families, made it to the box office for a very brief run. It later became a sleeper hit on video.

This is another movie about the ramifications of addictions and though it's not "Leaving Las Vegeas" the movie is still welldone and draws you in(it was a book to). It also offers a fresh perspective surprisingly rare for movies of this type-addiction as seen through the eyes-not of the lover or parent-but of the child. In THIS story it's the mother in the family who is problematic-especially when the mother's new boyfriend enters the picture and starts a destructive chain of events.

As in most stories of this genre don't expect sweetness and light. It's a good story to see though and one many may relate too. The book is equally as welldone.

First Born is good psychological exploration in the various signs of breakdown of kids dealing with tough family situations. Here, Christopher Collet (Prayer of the Rollerboys) is Jake Livingston, a fifteen year old kid who lives with his mom (Terri Garr) and younger brother, Brian (Corey Haim). And, things are fine for a while for Jake, despite his dad going to Montreal to marry his girlfriend, leaving Jake a tad sympathetic of his still single mother. But things quickly fall apart when his mom's new boyfriend, Sam (Peter Weller), enters the picture, and eventually moves in. While his mom has dated in the past, there is something about Sam that neither Jake nor Brian can tolerate. They can't figure out what their mother sees in this guy.

Sam is kind of a flake. He never gives too much information about his past. The longer that Sam stays, the worse things become. He starts getting violent towards the boy, he starts bringing drugs into the house, and Jake's mother eventually starts falling into the same dangerous patterns as Sam while neglecting her own boys who plead with her to realize what Sam is really all about. For the first born, Jake, this is not something he can ignore, and has the responsibility of finding a way to protect himself, his brother, and most of all, his mother.

This movie presents the kind of psychological breakdown kids may go through when faced with serious family issues. Before Sam arrived, Jake was a funny, easy going kid. He was a good student and spent a lot of time with his friends (one of whom was played by Robert Downey, Jr.) and girlfriend (Sarah Jessica Parker). Afterwards, both his and Brian's attitudes change for the worse. Jake becomes considerably thinner, irritable, and starts slacking academically. Likewise, Brian starts getting into a lot of fights in the schoolyard, beating up the kids he know he can win fights against. Plus, he hates coming home, and when he does, he spend much of the time locked in his room. It is a good film, too, to teach of the warning signs to parents, teachers, counselors, and so forth (Jake's dad couldn't be suspicious of anything was going on because he wasn't there to witness the changes in his sons).

I wish Christopher Collet had been in more movies. He appears again with Haim about six years later or so in the sci-fi movie, Prayer of the Rollerboys.