The First Time- Review

Hilariously relatable, awkward and full of character charisma, The First Time offers a perspective into high school relationships, the stigma involving experience and intimacy and the general pressures faced as a teenager. Directed by Jon Kasdan, it features Dylan O'Brien and Britt Robertson.

Devilishly handsome Dave Hodgman doesn't have a clue about how relationships work or what love truly is, so when he meets Aubrey Miller, his jaded perception of how one might go about such gruelling business is given a run for its money.

The characters and general storyline are clichéd but yet it is so easy to tune into this film and get an enjoyable experience out of it. From a critical point of view, this film is not flawless nor very unique. It lacks substance in characterisation and obviously lacks originality in its storyline. From an audience point of view, it is vastly different. Comedic, clean and provides a set of good-looking, fresh-faced cast members to carry the story from beginning to end.

While the concept of love, virginity and relationships are all very subjective and range from viewer to viewer, these aspects all create an interaction with the audience and quite literally ask for their opinion.

The script has little jolts of excitement (to escape the clichés) but is still left questionable and sometimes dull. As above, the characters are not anything special and their typical high school statuses aren't made clear either, taking it a tiny step away from the stereotypical American teen film that it is. Dave's friends include one little Welsh friend with glasses who seems to have no trouble with women yet comes across slightly as an outcast. The other, a big, bulky lad who plays American football. As for Aubrey, it appears that she has no friends, aside from a ridiculously repulsive and controlling boyfriend.

For some reason, I had a problem with this. Sometimes it helps to have friends on both parties to character build the lead roles and create some kind of a complementary sub-story.

Non-verbal dialogue was probably the most important aspect for this film. In many areas, the verbal dialogue was inappropriately placed, frustrating and sometimes just so unnecessary. Simple things from longing stares, awkward movements/ glances and erratic steps from A to B helped build tension and deliver more personality information about the characters.

The First Time is a considerably easy film to watch that is light-hearted, charming and completely unserious. While not the most well crafted, it makes for a cute teen romance.

Score: 5.5/10.