REVIEW: TADPOLE - The story of a precocious 15-year-old prep student desperately in love with his sexy stepmom (Sigourney Weaver), Tadpole owes a lot to The Graduate. As Oscar Grubman, newcomer Aaron Stanford even looks a bit like Dustin Hoffman, especially when he's being seduced by his stepmom's 40-ish best friend, Diane (Bebe Neuwirth). But part of what makes Tadpole such a charmer is the fact that director Gary Winick and screenwriters Heather McGowan and Niels Mueller are perfectly willing to pay their respects. When Oscar's tryst with Diane is revealed over dinner with his dad and stepmom, Stanley (John Ritter) and Eve, his dad blurts out, "Well, it's all very 'The Graduate.'" During a montage near the end of the movie, where Oscar is shown in various modes of reflection, the soundtrack blares a remake of "The Only Living Boy In New York" -- originally written and performed by the duo responsible for The Graduate's seminal soundtrack, Simon & Garfunkel. Of course, Tadpole's young protagonist exhibits none of Benjamin Braddock's debilitating disillusionment. And why should he? He's smart, passionate, speaks fluent French, and gets to come home on Thanksgiving break to a version of Manhattan that's so idealized it would make Woody Allen blush. Even with the slightly murky digital picture -- Winick shot Tadpole in two weeks for around $500,000 -- the leaves are vibrant with color. Birds chirp sweetly over the quiet din of traffic (in New York City!?). There's no trash on the street, or homeless people begging for change, and the subway always looks clean and safe. It's a romanticized rendition of Manhattan that seems lifted straight out of just about any Allen film, but particularly Hannah and Her Sisters. (Oscar spies the forbidden object of his affection at Thanksgiving dinner just as Michael Caine's character in Hannah pines for his wife's sister (Barbara Hershey) at their Thanksgiving gathering.) This Manhattan may only exist in movies -- or, at the very least, for the extremely affluent -- but I fell for it just as hard as Oscar does for Eve. More than convincing Weaver, Neuwirth, and Ritter to take parts in this low-budget winner, Winick's biggest coup was the casting of Stanford, who, like his character, is mature for his age. He never overplays the comedy, even at its most farcical. And while he's just good-looking enough that an attractive older woman might want to seduce him, his natural teenage awkwardness makes it easy for us to believe he'd spend hours reading Voltaire in search of the secrets to love and life.

Winick won the Best Dramatic Directing prize for Tadpole at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Here are his top five favorite films about teens, according to the Sundance Channel web page:

THE OUTSIDERS, 1983
directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
For Coppola's sentimental, fable like approach to teenagers.

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS, 1961
directed by: Elia Kazan
For Elia Kazan's sensitive look at unrequited love and the innocence of Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty.

Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, 2001
directed by: Alfonso Cuaron
Alfonso Cuaron's treatment of a universal story.

RUSHMORE, 1998
directed by: Wes Anderson
Max Fisher's sense of humor with Wes Anderson's sensibility.

FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, 1982
directed by: Amy Heckerling
A time and place that defines the High School experience.

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