18 To Party

569nyvlg18 TO PARTY is a spot-on love letter to Gen X, awkward teenagers, and the transcendent power of friendship.

Starring: Alivia Clark, Tanner Flood, James Freedson-Jackson, Oliver Gifford, Nolan Lyons, Sam McCarthy, Ivy Miller, Taylor Richardson and Erich Schuett. Including music by: The Alarm, Big Audio Dynamite, Mick Jones, The Velvet Underground and many more.

It’s 1984 and outside a small-town nightclub, a group of 8th graders gather, grappling with a spate of recent suicides, UFO sightings, their absentee parents, and each other. 18 TO PARTY spans a single evening in the lives of these kids, but manages to transport us fully to a time when waiting for something to happen felt just as significant as the thing itself. Gorgeously atmospheric, with a pulsating sense of anticipation that steadily builds, the film pulls us into the fears, wounds, and desires of each character, ultimately revealing that hope may arrive from the last place we expect. The meticulously authentic production design, killer soundtrack, and universally excellent performances recall the spirit of classic 80s teen movies like Stand By Me and The Breakfast Club.

Review: As a teen in the 80’s 18 TO PARTY was an instant time machine back to a time when social media was science fiction, and friendships were flesh and bone instead of 2D digital snaps. That doesn’t mean that navigating the waters of relationships was easy. It was tough finding your own way – especially in middle school – with hormones, cliches, and peer pressure making every decision feel like a future defining moment. Everything was heightened including the pain.

Writer /Director Jeff Roda gives us a fly on the dumpster view of this handful of kids who could be you, me or pretty much any friend we grew up with. The discussions and reactions are organic and relatable. These youth have gathered together to try and get into a local nightclub. Of course they are too young so they are loitering around the back lot and hoping that their “connections” will come through. This gives them ample time to do what we did before texting; talk about anything and everything in real time. Even at 13 we had all the answers for war, parenting, and the world at large.

Setting it in one location with minimal sets and allowing your young cast of new comers to carry your entire movie is risky. But at the same time it pays off in authenticity. There are few distractions in the 80-minutes and yes it is film fest fodder but that is fine. These projects are important to the industry and for the art of filmmaking as a whole. In a world or green screens, special effects, and out of this world scripts – all of which I love – it is beneficial to have something that help us reflect back on what defined who we are now.

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