Tadpole Review
by Karina Montgomery (karina AT cinerina DOT com)December 19th, 2002
Tadpole
Matinee
Tadpole starts so strongly that literally 5 minutes in I decided that I loved it. Newcomer Aaron Stanford is Oscar (known as Tadpole to his doorman) who is basically a 40 year old trapped in a 15-year-old's body. Not in a creepy Freaky Friday way; Oscar is just an old soul and a surprising intellectual (without being the least bit pretentious).
We find out soon enough that intelligently discussing Voltaire and admiring history and literature are not the only ways his mental age is expressed in this young (handsome) fellow. I wouldn't say he has a thing for the older ladies as a part of his persona, he just has a distaste for the giggling neophytes in his age group. He also has a very definite, serious crush on one specific older lady, Eve (Sigourney Weaver), who is sadly his stepmother. Eve's best friend Diane (Bebe Neuwirth) is less censorious of Oscar's predilections. I have already said too much! The plot does not unwind in the ways you might think.
The film pivots entirely on Stanford's performance, and he is super. Even without Weaver and Neuwirth's delicious performances, this movie is worth seeing just for him. With them, look out! Oscar's appeal is not the sweetheart, innocent charm of Jesse Eisenberg in Roger Dodger or Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter. He's self-assured, comfortable with himself, and comfortable with adults, without being tainted by the stresses of taxes and bosses and 401 (k) plans and all that stuff. Oscar almost reminds me of Bud Cort in Harold and Maude - eyes that do not value the empty flash of a blonde with an easy life.
Oscar rules out women by the perceived life experiences they have, perhaps unfairly, but of course there is an attractive wisdom in an older woman that even a teen who has lived too much can never have. Stanford is handsome, but not in a Tiger Beat way. He *feels* older than he is, like Eddie Kaye Thomas in American Pie, but without having to try. We understand his philosophy because he expresses them with such conviction.
Nothing about Tadpole feels taboo or dirty or even scandalous, thanks to the above-mentioned three actors and dad John Ritter, who adds the farcical element that keeps the movie from devolving into an art house sex farce. It's also incredibly short - the box says 78 minutes but the credits were already rolling at 71 minutes. At barely the length of a Disney animated feature, Tadpole almost seems like it forgets something. By the end, however, we know we can go no further with this story, but it still feels a little unresolved. Besides this trailing off, the story clips and a near-perfect pace, and master Stanford is one to watch out for. Check it out.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These reviews (c) 2002 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but just credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks.
[email protected]
Check out previous reviews at:
http://www.cinerina.com
http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com - the Online Film Critics Society http://www.hsbr.net/reviews/karina/listing.hsbr - Hollywood Stock Exchange Brokerage Resource
http://www.mediamotions.com for 1999 releases
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
