That Night: Not Like Any Other

That Night is a coming of age story released in 1992. The story follows a young girl who has an infatuation with her teenage neighbor, Sheryl O’Connor (Juliette Lewis). Alice (Eliza Dushku) finds Sheryl O’Connor so fascinating because she is beautiful and boys seem to love her. She also admires the relationship Sheryl has with her father, since Alice’s relationship with her own father is rocky at best. To Alice, Sheryl has the perfect life and she wants more than anything to be a part of it. 

Then things for Sheryl take a turn when her father suddenly passes away. While in her grieving process, she begins to date a greaser who works at the bowling alley, Rick (C. Thomas Howell). When their relationship heats up and becomes more public, the neighborhood shares their concerns with Sheryl’s mother who forces her to dump Rick. No one was a bigger fan of Sheryl and Rick’s relationship than Alice. When Alice finds herself in Sheryl’s company after an incident at a birthday party, she is quick to suggest they go find Rick. The three have a great night together; Alice admires the love Rick and Sheryl have and wants to help them be together. 

Things get complicated when Sheryl gets sick and disappears. Alice finds out she’s pregnant and becomes determined to get Rick and Sheryl back together, even if it means disobeying her dad.

Beyond the main story is a side story about Alice’s little brother who passed away as a baby. Her parents are struggling to get pregnant again and this causes tension in the family. The side story doesn’t get much attention, but it does explain some of the strain in Alice’s family.

This story is very reminiscent of other coming of age stories made in the early nineties like Now and Then, which came out in 1995. This movie had a lot of charm to it that made it feel classic. None of the scenes were incredibly intense and the stakes felt pretty low as far as today’s standards go, but it was an enjoyable watch. The characters were incredibly likable and made the story more enjoyable. Even the characters the viewer is supposed to not like have their likable moments.  

There are a lot of special moments in this movie that connect you to the characters and their stories. Both Alice and Sheryl have moments where they record their stories on a record. Sheryl does this after the death of her father and Alice does this the night she’s out with Rick and Sheryl. This action connects the two, even though their stories differ. 

I watched this movie on Hulu where it is currently streaming. The movie is incredibly charming and a film that will leave you feeling good. There’s not a lot of bad things to say about this film and nothing that makes it stand out beyond the quality of the story itself. It’s worth a watch if you’ve never seen it before and just want to see a movie that makes you