I am definitely no fan of love stories, but there is something very special about this one. Robby Benson portrays a young man who, while immersed in the ultra- (not to say pseudo-)sophisticated world of New York City teen life, manages to preserve a purity of character and honesty with those around him that is almost painful to watch. Somehow he does this without becoming either a nerd or a buffoon. I call the performance brilliant because I can't imagine that actor Benson himself could have been very much like this, though perhaps that's unfair: he has gone on to a quite respectable acting and directorial career. This was Glynnis O'Connor's first movie, and she is lovely as well as sensitive in a quite delicate role. Of course the theme of teenagers' vulnerability to the buffetings of the adult world they are helpless to control is what determines the plot, but in this case that is less of a political challenge than a device necessary to bring the story to its conclusion. I finished this movie feeling warm and rather good inside.
