Photos from Sony Pictures Classics (Left to right)
Peter Onorati (Phil) and Ryan
Merriman (Lenny) star in "Just Looking," directed by Jason
Alexander. The film opens nationwide on Friday.
By Brent Hopkins
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Hollywood’s a funny town. Indiana Jones can watch a
flaming human sacrifice and slide by with a PG-rating. If a teenage
boy is caught using common profanity, however, the film is headed
for an R.
Such is the strange atmosphere that the cast and crew of
“Just Looking” had to deal with. The independent film,
directed by Jason Alexander and starring Ryan Merriman, Gretchen
Mol and Patti LuPone, has no violence, no graphic sex and certainly
no human sacrifices, yet it received one of the strongest ratings
possible. The creative principals behind the film aren’t
happy about it, either.
“It’s got this ridiculous R-rating, but it’s
not provocative in an R-rated sort of way,” Alexander said,
phoning in an interview while preparing for a TV-appearance.
“The kids use the F-word, and that’s it. There’s
sexual content, but there’s no nudity. It’s just
language.”
Granted, the subject is a rather strong one. In the movie,
Merriman’s character, the 13-year-old Lenny, finds himself
curious about the much-taboo subject of sex. To gain some insight
on this mysterious, shadowy world that is only discussed behind
closed doors in the less progressive days of 1955, he
unsuccessfully tries to spy on his mother and stepfather in
flagrante delicto. While this is a tad out of the ordinary,
it’s not intended to shock viewers, stress those involved
with the project.
“I think that the rating is absurd,” said writer
Marshall Karp. “I don’t know any 13-year-old in the
world who hasn’t wondered about this and gone through this
situation. I did at that age, and I’m sure it hasn’t
changed terribly.”
 Illustration by GRACE HUANG/Daily Bruin Both Karp and
Alexander made a careful distinction between what the movie
discusses and what it shows. While Lenny may talk about sex, he
doesn’t engage in it; something that differentiates
“Just Looking” from many teen sex comedies. To lump
this movie into the same boat is irresponsible, Alexander said.
“I would have fought it to the death,” the director
said. “There’s nothing in it that deserves an
R.”
Indeed, by slapping this banner onto the film, making it
synonymous with graphic sex or senseless violence, the ratings
board has overlooked a large part of what makes it special,
Alexander said.
“I can tell you as someone in the business and as a
parent, for my money, they can do away with ratings all
together,” he said. “What I need to judge whether
something is right for me or my children is information about
what’s in the movie. Give me a description of what’s in
there, and I’ll decide if it’s right. To tell me
“˜It’s an R,’ and not tell me why, that restricts
me bringing people to the film that I’d normally
bring.”
And if he were bringing his own family, including his own young
children to the movies, would they go see “Just
Looking”?
“My kids are eight and four,” he said.
“I’d take my 4-year-old, but I think there’d be
nothing there for him. My 8-year-old, I think I actually could
take, too. He’s seen “˜Rent,’ so there’s
nothing there that he’d be offended by. I think he’d
actually enjoy it.”
Youngsters aren’t the only ones who can relate to the
subject, however. Karp recommended it for a slightly older
audience, as well.
“It’s perfect for a 21-year-old to see, because
they’ve grown up wondering about this,” he said.
Karp can indeed speak with authority on this subject; much of
the script is borrowed from his own life.
“This is all semi-autobiographical,” he said.
“All the things they talked about in there really
happened.”
This is a bold admission, given Lenny’s voyeuristic
tendencies toward his own family. That choice, however, was made
more out of necessity than interest.
“Sex, at that age, is very mysterious,” Karp said.
“We’re talking about someone who is so curious, he
watches his own mother in the act.”
This is one major jumping-off point from today’s
information-rich society.
“Nowadays, a 13-year-old kid knows where to go when he
wants to see sex,” Alexander said. “He turns on the
computer or he watches HBO after 11 p.m. Then, the only way was to
find it.”
 Gretchen Mol (Hedy) also stars in "Just
Looking," a film which received an "R" rating for strong
language.
While Karp brought firsthand experience to the table, Alexander,
a self-confessed “American history nut” had to ask the
help of elder siblings and parents.
“I wasn’t a kid in 1955; I wasn’t born in
1955, but I have a good sense of that period,” he said.
In many ways, “Just Looking” turned out to be a
learning experience for the director. While he’s no stranger
to working in front of the camera, most memorably as the smug
egomaniac George Costanza on “Seinfeld,” this is only
Alexander’s second time behind it. His first movie,
1995’s “For Better or Worse,” was released on
TNT. Even with that project under his belt, Alexander found the
work challenging. The $3 million budget, combined with the legal
requirements of working with child actors made for some interesting
moments on scene.
“When you have less than an ideal number of days to shoot
with, and your star is limited to nine hours each day, you’re
constantly chasing,” he said.
“More often than not, at some point during the day we knew
we weren’t going to make the day, but we had to make the day.
All the pre-production notions and shot plans would go out the
window and we’d start improvising. More often than not,
necessity was a wonderful mother.”
In the end, whether planned ahead or happened upon at the last
minute “Just Looking” has made its makers proud.
Unfortunately for Karp, however, its completion has left him
without any more amusing childhood anecdotes.
“I don’t have any wild stories to tell
really,” he said, laughing. “They’re all in the
movie, pretty much.”
FILM: “Just Looking” opens Friday in theaters
nationwide.