Now and Then is a 1995 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Lesli Linka Glatter and written by I. Marlene King. It stars Christina Ricci, Thora Birch, Gaby Hoffmann, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Melanie Griffith, Demi Moore, Rosie O'Donnell, and Rita Wilson. Its plot follows four women who recount a pivotal summer they shared together as adolescents in 1970.

Now and Then was filmed largely in the Country Walk subdivision off Coffee Bluff Road in Savannah, Georgia (called Shelby, Indiana, in the film, which itself is based on the real-world town of Winchester, Indiana), using the Gaslight Addition and Old Town Cemetery, highlighting the downtown area. Additional filming was done in Statesboro, Georgia, in locations including the Bulloch County Court House and the building now housing the Averitt Center for the Arts.

Although the film received unfavorable reviews upon release, it was a box office success, grossing $37.5 million against a $12 million budget. The film is considered a cult classic for its depiction of girlhood and centering of female friendships. but she was replaced by Rita Wilson. The film's working title was The Gaslight Addition.

Soundtrack

Columbia Records released a soundtrack album on October 10, 1995. It was made up of tunes from the 1960s and 1970s.

The following songs appear in the film, but not on the soundtrack:

  • "Midnight Rider" by The Allman Brothers Band
  • "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra
  • "As I Lay Me Down" by Sophie B. Hawkins

One of the songs is anachronistic for a story set in the summer of 1970: "Knock Three Times" was released in 1971.

  1. "Sugar, Sugar" – The Archies (2:45)
  2. "Knock Three Times" – Tony Orlando and Dawn (2:54)
  3. "I Want You Back" – The Jackson 5 (2:53)
  4. "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" – Stevie Wonder (2:39)
  5. "Band of Gold" – Freda Payne (2:53)
  6. "Daydream Believer" – The Monkees (2:49)
  7. "No Matter What" – Badfinger (2:59)
  8. "Hitchin' a Ride" – Vanity Fare (2:55)
  9. "All Right Now" – Free (5:29)
  10. "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" – Supremes/Temptations (3:06)
  11. "I'll Be There" – The Jackson 5 (3:56)
  12. "Now and Then" – Susanna Hoffs (5:34)

Varèse Sarabande issued an album of Cliff Eidelman's score on October 24, 1995.

  1. "Main Title" (3:05)
  2. "Remembrance" (1:57)
  3. "A Secret Meeting" (2:11)
  4. "On the Swing" (1:26)
  5. "It's My Mom" (2:32)
  6. "Spirits Are Here" (2:17)
  7. "Sam's Dad Leaves" (1:56)
  8. "It's a Girl" (1:48)
  9. "Roberta Fakes Death" (1:26)
  10. "Best Friends for Life" (3:07)
  11. "Pete Saves Sam" (2:29)
  12. "The Pact" (3:10)
  13. "No More Seances" (1:44)
  14. "Rest in Peace Johnny" (4:22)

Certifications

Reception

Box office

Now and Then was released in North American theaters on October 20, 1995, ultimately grossing $37.5 million worldwide. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 50, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times criticized the story, saying it was "made of artificial bits and pieces" whereas "What distinguished Stand by Me was the psychological soundness of the story: We could believe it and care about it." Ebert instead praised another film about girlhood The Man in the Moon for its truthful storytelling and said that in comparison this film was "a gimmicky sitcom". Alison Macor of The Austin Chronicle wrote the film is "sweet and it's often funny, but ultimately its slice-of-life approach tries too hard to incorporate current events like the Vietnam War."

Though critics were lukewarm towards the story, multiple reviews praised the four young leads' acting. Macor acknowledged "the four young actresses effectively convey that on-the-verge feeling between puberty and teen-hood".

Legacy

In the years since Now and Thens release, the film has gained a large cult following through home video, repeat airings on cable TV, and as a staple at girls' sleepovers.

In a New York Times piece discussing the film's cultural impact, Ilana Kaplan wrote Now and Then was ahead of its time for "giving the complexities of girlhood a weight that coming-of-age films [had heretofore] typically neglected…[The film] showed tween girls as fully realized characters who weren't written off or secondary. Tackling death and grief, along with budding sexuality gave their stories weight when narratives about female adolescence were often surface-level." King would reunite with director Lesli Linka Glatter for Liars, with the latter directing the pilot episode and two season finales. the project did not come to materialize. According to King, ABC Family wanted to change the concept "so the 'now' was present day and the 'then' would be the '90s. I didn't want to do that – I felt that kind of ruins how special the movie is...I didn't want to take a chance on changing the time period. To me, there will never be a 1970s again, so to try to set it in the '90s when we had cell phones and things like that, I don't think it would work."

Key Differences from the Film

  • In the novel, Samantha’s emotional struggles surrounding her parents' divorce are explored in more detail such as her resentment toward her mother for quickly dating again after the separation.
  • The novelization adds more context regarding the Vietnam War and its impact on the girls’ lives. The scene in the film where Brenden Fraser portrays a Vietnam War veteran is expanded in the book compared to the brief mention in the film.
  • The girls share more intimate conversations about their futures, their friendships, and their fears in the treehouse than in the film.
  • The novel features a playful kiss between Teeny and Scott Wormer, a scene which was not in the film.
  • The book includes more insight into Chrissy’s life and struggles, particularly her desire to fit in and her challenges with body image.
  • The novel offers additional scenes that explore the history of the fictional Shelby, Indiana, such as the girls’ visits to the local cemetery. This section is more detailed in the book, providing a glimpse into the town's past and the impact of local events, including the fallout from the Vietnam War, which shaped the community's identity.
  • The adult women’s reflections on their childhood and their current lives are more fleshed out in the novelization. The book explores their thoughts on their friendships, how their relationships have changed over time, and how the summer they spent together shaped their lives.

References