Georgia (95)

11/9/96

When I was a teenager growing up in East Lansing, Michigan, some friends and I decided to try and sneak into the Frandor Theater where 'Fast Times At Ridgemont High' was playing. Spiccoli and his California pals were too tempting for us to be afraid of getting caught. We had a friend, who was on a date with her boyfriend, open a back door behind the screen and the five or six of us rushed in. The biggest mistake that theater sneakers made back then, was to walk in and immediately sit down while everyone could see you. So we shrewdly snuck behind the screen and waited for the heat to die down. We watched the previews backwards from behind the screen. We could see the people but they couldn't see us. After what we thought was enough time, we slowly walked out one by one as the crowd's attention was focused on the screen. My heart was pounding as we waited to get kicked out, but it never happened. I was watching my first R-rated movie inside a theater. In those days, it was a lot harder to get into R movies. Sometimes they even asked for I.D. The reason for this rambling is that 'Fast Times' was Jennifer Jason Leigh's first film. She played a girl not much older than me then and she continues to now. I feel like I've grown up with her. She has slowly changed from awkward teen, to our bravest actress. She can take a character that no one could possibly sympathize with, and make her uncommonly interesting. In this film she plays Sadie, the younger sister of the title character. Both sisters are musicians, but on opposite sides of the fame fence. Mare Winningham (St. Elmo's Fire) plays Georgia, who appears to be some kind of countryish music sensation. Sort of a Mary Chapin Carpenter or Kathy Mattea. (I've just written everything I know about country music). She has an almost perfect husband and almost perfect kids and lives on a beautiful farm near Seattle. Sadie, on the other hand, begs for low paying gigs, singing backup for any number of bands and musical styles. Winningham and Leigh actually do their own singing, and while Winningham's is hypnotic, Leigh's makes you want to turn away. She sings as if she needs to get every ounce of pain and anger out of her body by the time the song ends. Her band plays at bowling alleys and weddings and seedy bars. She drinks and may or may not use harder drugs. Men fall for her, because she seems real. She's out there for everyone to see. As usual, Leigh inhabits, not just play acts, her role. She's skinny and unhealthy looking and seductive and wise and innocent all at the same time. The relationship between the sisters is one of envy and hatred and pity. It's not exactly uplifting, but it is worthwhile. Max Perlich (Homicide: Life On The Street, the best show on television) plays a young man who delivers groceries to Sadie one day, and just about never leaves. He is the picture of unconditional love.
Jennifer Jason Leigh Mare Winningham Ted Levine Max Perlich John Doe John C. Reilly Jimmy Witherspoon Jason Carter Written by Barbara Turner [Jennifer's Mother] Directed by Ulu Grosbard
40 critics 8.6 Ebert ***^ Maltin ** Benson ***^
~~Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Mare Winningham
~~New York Critics Award For Best Actress For Jennifer Jason Leigh
~~Independent Spirit Award Winner For Best Supporting Actress For Mare Winningham

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