CS Daily Archive > DVD of the Day > 05/11/04

By the Book Storytelling

by MATTHEW REYNOLDS

This sappy look into yesteryear leans a little too heavily on its soundtrack to convey mood, but the story coasts to a surprisingly sweet conclusion; what could have been simply a vanity project by director Bob Shaye, the studio head of New Line Cinema, is simply an ode to his teen years.

Book of Love

William Kotzwinkle
Based on his novel, Jack in the Box

It's the 1950s, and student Jack Twiller (Chris Young) tries to get by at his new high school -- he's befriended by girl-crazy "Crutch Kane," (Keith Coogan) who has no idea he sees a nerd when he looks in the mirror; and he falls for lovely Lily (Josie Bisset), who uses him only to make her bully boyfriend jealous. There are classic summer camp antics, grease monkey car troubles, and a wild party that gets predictably out of control, all leading to prom night, where Twiller has to see what he's really made of. While the ending doesn't necessarily qualify as a twist, it is somewhat unexpected, and makes for a decent, realistic conclusion.

Bookended by an adult Jack (Michael McKean) looking through his old high school yearbook, the movie has the caustic quality of Stand By Me and the gauzy look of A Christmas Story. It slips into cliché quite often; of course, what is cliché to one generation packs actual meaning and memories to another.

Twiller's character isn't terribly engaging, in fact he's kind of bland; all the eccentricities fall upon geeky Kane and his tough-guy friend Spider (Danny Nucci). Twiller's parents are clueless in a way that parents in the '50s were apparently doomed to be. While not exactly original, there is a timeless appeal to his struggles at fitting in at a new school.

- Feature commentary by director Bob Shaye
- "Meet Bob Shaye" documentary
- Shaye's original short film, "Image"
- Trailers and TV spots

According to the commentary, Shaye (left) was drawn to this material mainly for his nostalgia for the time period; he was working with someone who was essentially a novice of a screenwriter, and it's worth noting that there are no stars in the film. So aside from producer Rachel Talalay, a key figure in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, it appeared that Shaye was on his own with this personal project. He does mention that he would never have been able to get away from his pressing day-to-day duties as chairman of the studio if not for President Michael Lynn taking the reigns. Only then did he feel comfortable making the artistic commitment to working on just one film, himself.

Shaye reserves some special praise for Kotzwinkle, whom he describes as being quite collaborative, considering he was adapting his first screenplay. Kotzwinkle was on set the whole time, and was amenable to making changes. And because it was his first feature film, Shaye explains that he storyboarded the entire film.

Interestingly, the coarse language and brief nudity earn the film an "R" rating, and Shaye says that they were going for that more adult theme. But like a lot of teen films of the '80s, the story itself doesn't have a sophistication to match those sporadic adult elements.

This film doesn't offer much by way of originality, no new or interesting take on the time period (as compared to, say, Liberty Heights) - - but its meek watchability increases as it goes. The extras aren't all that remarkable.

Book of Love
New Line Home Video
Rated PG-13; 86 min.
$19.97

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Matthew Reynolds is a former journalist now working in feature film development. He is not responsible for items lost or stolen during the reading of this article.

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