A ChucksConnection Film Review

 

Britt Robertson wears black low cut Converse “Chuck Taylor” All Stars in the film.

 

The First Time

by Hal Peterson

 

Dave and Aubrey meet for the first time outside a home where an unchaperoned party is going on.

Dave and Aubrey walk home after the party is broken up.

 

When they wake up the next morning, both are in a panic. Dave accidentally spills one of the glasses of wine on the rug as he desperately escapes out the window. Later Dave talks about what happened with his two best friends, Simon (Craig Roberts) and Big Corporation (LaMarcus Tinker). Simon is a computer nerd and Big Corporation is a huge black teen, already the size of an NFL linebacker. Dave’s friends believe that Aubrey was lying about having a boyfriend, and they urge Dave to text her to follow up on their meeting. But Dave forgot to get her cell phone number. Luckily for Dave, Simon has a friend who has access to the high school records where they attend, and is able to provide Dave with Aubrey’s home phone number. Dave calls her, is able to get past her parents, and asks her if she has any plans for the evening. Aubrey curtly tells Dave that she is going to see a movie with her boyfriend, Ronny. Dave tells her that he is planning to go to a movie also. That evening at the movie theater, Dave hooks up with Jane and her friend Brianna, who are there to see the same movie. Aubrey enters the theater with Ronny, sees Dave, and introduces him to Ronny. During the movie, Aubrey is upset by something she sees, and walks out into the lobby. Dave notices this and follows her out. They talk some more. Aubrey apologizes to Dave for being curt with him on the phone, and for making him jump off the roof that morning. Dave is more than willing to forgive her, and is able to get her cell phone number. He invites Aubrey and Ronny to go over to Briana’s house after the movie.

 

Dave and Aubrey meet at a movie theater.

 

At Brianna’s house, things begin to heat up. Ronny tells Dave that after waiting a long time for it, he plans to have sex with Aubrey later. Dave realizes that Ronny is a self-centered jerk more interested in Aubrey as a conquest than as a loving partner. Meanwhile, Jane and Aubrey have a chat. Jane tells her that Dave is her sounding board, a friend who will listen to her concerns about relationships. Aubrey is about to encourage Jane to go out with Dave, but decides not to after thinking about the implications. Later Dave finds Aubrey and tells her not to have sex with Ronny because he isn’t the right guy for her. They are about to kiss when Ronny interrupts them and tells Aubrey he wants to leave right away. Dave gets into a fight with Ronny, and gets punched in the face. After Ronny and Aubrey leave, Jane begins talking to Dave about her relationships. Dave realizes that he only has feelings for Aubrey now, and that when he and Jane talk, the conversation is only about her and her problems. Dave leaves after a while and on the way home he receives a text from Aubrey asking him to pick her up. When he does, Aubrey tells him that she has broken up with Ronny and they kiss passionately. Things are now getting set up for Dave and Aubrey’s “first time”, but things don’t turn out as expected. The remainder of the film is about their first tryst and how they both react to it.

 

Aubrey is texting on her cell phone.

 

The First Time takes a sensitive look at teenaged romance in today era, centering on the pressures that typical middle class teenagers like Dave and Aubrey face from their peers while trying to evaluate and understand their own inner desires to have something in their lives beyond a casual friendship. In their world, having sex with someone is an important rite of passage not be be missed. Their misgivings and awkwardness in dealing with their emotions and expectations give the story line its interest. Desperate to meet that expectation, Aubrey is willing to lose her virginity to someone she doesn’t really love and who doesn’t love her. She tells Dave that there is no “right guy” for her and she just wants to “get it over with”. Dave wants to have sex for the first time also, but the awkward manner in which he approaches things shows his lack of experience in a true relationship. Through their missteps, the film storyline points out that there is more to a loving relationship than just physical needs or gaining the approval of your peers. That concept is presented to the audience without preaching as slowly but inevitably Aubrey and Dave develop feelings for each other. Their attitudes do change when they begin to experience what love is truly about. The First Time is written and directed by Jonathan Kasdan. The movie is well cast in presenting the typical teen personalities presented here. The film has finely crafted performances by Britt Robertson and Dylan O’Brien. Thank goodness that it is rated PG-13 so that the main audience that it was intended for can easily see it.

 

Dave and Aubrey are talking at a local playground.

 

Best Chucks Scene

 

Aubrey has a poster of a red low cut chuck on the wall of her bedroom.

 

Britt Robertson, in her role as Aubrey, wears black low cut chucks throughout most of the film. Like many high school girls these days, she loves wearing her chucks. She even has a poster of a red low cut chuck on the wall of her room. Dave’s younger sister also wears a pair during her two brief scenes. Probably the best scene is when Aubrey and Dave are getting serious for the first time.

 

Aubrey and Dave take their romance to the next step.

 

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