That Was Then... This Is Now (1985) User Reviews

Disappointment ...

[pierrebonomo · 5/10 · 9 January 2015]

My grade 10 ESL students read the book and then watched this film version. They were not impressed at all and everyone agreed that it is not a good portrayal of the book. Some essential scenes are missing such as Mike Chamber's story which helps the reader really understand the motivation behind Bryon's change of heart. It would really have not been that difficult to just follow what was written in the book. Someone needs to be blamed for this poor excuse of a film!

The desperate male students in the class were hoping that the Angela character would have been as hot as she is described in the book!

Read the book instead.

What some kids carry around.

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 17 September 2019]

That Was Then, This Is Now is the story of two working class youths who look like they are on a street to nowhere in their lives.

After his parents killed themselves, Emilio Estevez is taken in by his best friend Craig Sheffer and his mom Barbara Babcock. The two of them get in all kinds of trouble. But Sheffer is starting to think that may be if I grow up their just might be a future for him.

Estevez is carrying a lot around, many of us do and we react to it in different ways. Estevez is on the road to career criminality. He gets involved in deeper and deeper and threatens to bring Sheffer in with him if Sheffer does not heed the better angels of his nature.

The key scene is when we learn as Estevez confides to Scheffer just what it is he's carrying inside. Some of the best acting in both their careers.

Hollywood has done very well with S.E. Hinton novels. That Was Then This Is Now is right up there with Tex, Rumblefish. and The Outsiders. This one managed to get done without Matt Dillon.

I recommend it highly.

The most mediocre of the S.E. Hinton-based adaptations. (spoilers)

[vertigo_14 · 5/10 · 12 December 2004]

I always loved S.E. Hinton's novels as a kid: The Outsiders, Rumble Fish (which in my opinion, is the greatest film adaptation in the series despite everyone's fascination with The Outsiders), Tex, and That Was Then This is Now.

'That Was Then, This is Now' was the last film adaptation (although the TV series for 'The Outsiders' follows five years later after the release of this movie). I would've attribute the mediocrity of the movie, or at least the inability to really put forth all that the novel did, was because it was not directed by Francis Ford Coppola (who directs 'The Outsiders,' and does a fabulous job with 'Rumble Fish'), except 'Tex,' which was a pretty good movie, was likewise not directed by Coppola.

I think it is in part the chemistry among the characters. The whole mood looks like something out of a music video, with Craig Scheffer coming off more like a guy who broke off a long relationship with a girlfriend rather than dealing with a rambunctious brother (in addition to other things). Plus, as another viewer already mentioned, they shifted the focus on characters so that superstar Emilio Esteves becomes the center of attention. Most of S.E. Hinton's novel always portrayed a struggle from the brother who is looking out at things that, by his perception, have become (or always were) seriously out of control. (See 'Tex' and 'Rumble Fish'). And yes, they unfortunately acquiesced to the Hollywood happy ending, and in the sappiest way, despite all of the problems that the characters endure.

Unlike previous adaptations of Hinton's novels, even those not directed by Coppola, they really fail to portray the struggles that the characters realize in the book. And, lack of developing the story on this point really makes you only half appreciate the characters and their conflicts (and in this case, not even their resolution).

Decent flick in-and-of itself, if you're not a fan of The Outsiders...

[sal-34 · 19 October 1999]

Only thing wrong with this movie-- the decision to "update" the story to make it contemporary. Some novels lend themselves to that kind of reinterpretation easily, but S.E. Hinton's early works aren't among them. The book, set in the late 60s, was essentially a follow-up to "The Outsiders," picking up a few months after its TV Series left off. The character of Ponyboy was taken out of this film for obvious reasons (why would he still be 16 in 1985?), but other Outsiders (most notably Tim Shepard) remained intact without aging a day-- effectively destroying any continuity it might have had with the film it was undoubtedly cashing in on. As result of this questionable rewrite, the novel's focus on the greaser/soc conflict dying off is completely absent, as are other time period-specific subplots. Perhaps the filmmakers wanted this to stand on its own from Coppola's then-recent "Outsiders" adaptation, but this likely hurt "That Was Then...This Is Now" in more ways than it helped it.

Oh man.........

[ad2020 · 6/10 · 5 February 2001]

I'm not going to start on Christopher Cain, even though his movies tend to bite the dust..... At least this one had some decent acting, but characterization is what made the book by S.E.Hinton so powerful, And, yes, against better judgement, I will compare this to the book, with SPOILERS.... Mark in the book is popular likeable and dare-devilish, in the movie he's seems to be nothing but a punk w/ dare-devilish inclinations!! Mark would be my nephew to a T,a booty hound and a clever little mischief-maker whom anyone upon meeting can forgive since his untouchability and good-nature are very apparent,not like some swinging-you-know-what (I HATE censorship!!!!!) that bases his life on all the rampant going on's in the hood'. Yet, Emilio Estevez does manage to save his character somewhat, it's Bryan that was under-scored heavily, they should've represented more of that downtown background he has in the book, but alas, they made him nothing but a reformed punk akin to the Mark in the movie (which, alone I will say is good, but this is based on the book, I guess that spoiled it for me.) So, later on and throughout the movie Craig Sheffer seems like a wooden jerk to Mark, rather than representing the inner-turmoil that Bryan feels when he wants to change. If anything, Bryan still felt what I would say "carnalismo" in him after getting beat-up by the Sheperd brothers as well as feel responsible for stopping the violence, rather than looking like a whipped pup!! But I can forgive these things, what made me vote 6 on this was the ending, happy 80's music and a "lighten-up dude" ending. Yes, the book's the same way, but a lot more bitter..... when Bryan spoke with Mark in prison, Bryan left afraid of Mark, since Mark had the same mischieviousness about him, but also a darker-side which Bryan felt Mark could kill him if he wanted to!!!!! In all, if your gonna make the movie fluff, at least leave the ending to strike you! Yes, and I didn't even mention CHARACTERIZATION the supporting cast, only Morgan Freeman and Jill Schoelen (Angie Shepard) were true to form.

Hilarious

[marraeml · 6/10 · 22 May 2021]

I read the book for this movie and it was really good and very emotional to read as the characters change. The movie how ever is so ridiculous it's funny. For some reason it was changed to the 80's instead of the 60's which completely ruined the movie for me also making the sheppards immortal by doing this. Also since in the 80's it got rid of the hippies and changed it to punks but it is hard to take people that are supposed to be mean seriously when they're wearing a mesh tank top and eyeliner. And the way it's shot is just ridiculous and very over dramatic (classic 80's) but a great movie for a great laugh if I'm being honest.

Entertaining and worthwhile, I contend

[babygeniusesvseightcrazynights · 6/10 · 28 December 2004]

It's a very Hinton-esquire story. Emilio's character has a crappy family life, and spends most of his time with Sheffer and his single mom, who treats Emilio like her own son. They steal cars and get in fights, but Sheffer is clearly the more well-behaved of the two. Morgan Freeman plays the owner of a local bar that the boys frequent, and does a fine job. SPOILER: he gets killed. END SPOILER. The story revolves around the two main characters friendship and the tough S.E. Hinton trademarked teenage obstacles they encounter.

This is a very entertaining movie and I have to recommend it. Nothing fantastic as far as sophisticated filminess goes, but if you're a child of the 80s you will definitely enjoy it; there's lots of 80s high school/adolescent nostalgia to be found throughout this film. There are 80s punks with spiked hair who are so hardcore that they hang out at the prom but don't go inside. Kim Delaney is in it too, and she is (was?), of course, Hott.

Of note: Delaney's younger brother, who is kinda screwed up in the head, is named "M&M". Could this (the novel or the film) be where Eminem got the idea for his name?

bad movie

[nan-bess · 2/10 · 19 November 2014]

Yikes. This movie was not very good. The book was okay, not great. I still managed to slightly enjoy both. But really, the movie was pretty bad. The acting was pretty bad, except for Emilio Estivez who actually was enduring and cute. And of course, Morgan Freeman was awesome as he always is but his part wasn't major in this movie. The main character, Bryon, was sometimes enjoyable to watch and sometimes hard to watch. He's cute so that helps, but his acting wasn't great and it ruined some of the scenes. Cathy was cute too but her acting was pretty bad. Particularly, when she was driving the car when M&M was hallucinating. It was horrible. She had no emotion just like when she was in the hospital waiting room with her dad. She's not a good actress. And even Angela wasn't a great actress. The book was okay - somewhat enjoyable and besides the ending, the movie was true to the book. But there was so much more going on in the book, so much more detail (as is usually the case). The movie did a horrible job replicating that. I feel sorry for SE Hinton that her story was so poorly portrayed. Yikes.

Good, but ruined by the ending

[lauren5589 · 8/10 · 5 January 2003]

"That Was Then...This Is Now" followed the book relatively closely up until the last scenes. I thought the acting could have been better, and I think it would have been a better movie if they had left it in the time period the book was in. Despite this, I thought it was pretty good, and I liked it until the last few scenes. The book was so powerful and real in the last chapters- and the movie took all of this out. I thought it would have been a good ending- for a whole different movie, for "That Was Then...", it was wrong, and in my opinion ruined the movie.

seems out of time

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 9 May 2016]

Mark Jennings (Emilio Estevez) and Bryon Douglas (Craig Sheffer) are best friends and juvenile delinquents. Bryon falls for the new girl in school who turns out to be an old acquaintance, Cathy Carlson (Kim Delaney). His ex Angela Shepard is jealous. He starts to be more responsible which concerns Mark. Mark and Bryon hustle at pool, and get their bar owner friend Charlie Woods (Morgan Freeman) killed. Mark cuts off drunken Angela's hair. Her thuggish brothers come looking for revenge on Bryon's face. Cathy's little brother M&M is hospitalized on drugs from Mark. The friendship cracks under the pressure.

I used to read S.E. Hinton religiously once upon a time. It has a melodramatic teen coming-of-age mentality. They work on the page. They have the 50's 'Rebel Without a Cause' sensibility. The modern world can clash with that sensibility. It can seem overwrought and out of place. This one fails that test from time to time. It probably should have stayed in the earlier time period rather than trying to bring it into the modern world. Estevez is a solid delinquent. This is a valiant but flawed effort.

Emilio's pet project...

[Waterfarmer · 3/10 · 5 February 2003]

....should have stayed as one of those things that are always on the back burner! You know, that one kooky dream that just never materializes? If that was the case, I could see giving good 'ole Emilio a pat on the head and saying "That's it kid...keep reaching for the stars! Someday...just someday...you'll make it"!

However, the sad fact is that Emilio made this movie. Hinton sold the rights, and that's OK. Emilio took the project and added his unique "brat-pack" qualities to it. So, the time frame is different. From 70's lifestyles to 80's. Crashpads to break dancing. Blue jeans to neon spandex. Harsh language is added. Mark and Bryon now swear like sailors.

I can't say anymore about this film because my head is starting to hurt and I'm afraid my brain will explode. The class I work with will be posting their replies soon, so I now give you their unjaded opinions.

Better than the Outsiders but still could have been better

[gangstahippie · 8/10 · 20 August 2007]

Rated R for Language,Drug Content and Some Violence.

That Was Then This Is Now is a film based on the S.E Hinton novel of the same name.S.E Hinton is a great author and I have read most of her books.The Outsiders is her best book,this is her second best,rumble fish is her third best and Taming The Star Runner is her fourth best.While Rumble Fish is her third best novel, it is the greatest adaptation from the original novel to the film.It was directed by Coppola who also directed the Outsiders film.That however was not so faithful to the original novel and I did not like it very much.Now this was not directed by Coppola, it was written by Emilio Estevez who also stars in it.While its more of a faithful adaptation than outsiders, it still could have been more faithful.The movie is about a teen named Bryon and his friend Mark who lives with him after his parents killed each other.They both used to do everything together but now Bryon has a girlfriend named Cathy and Mark is jealous of her.They also need money to pay for Bryon's mothers operation so Mark starts selling drugs to hippies including Cathy's little brother M&M.The character M&M is much different in the film.In the novel he is an innocent freshman student, in this film he's basically a normal teen who makes sex remarks.Also the endings of the two differ.Anyway That Was Then This Is Now is a decent movie but not as good as the book.

movie ok-not as good as book.

[triple8 · 7/10 · 31 December 2003]

This book had alot of impact on me when I read it so very long ago-the movie wasn't terrible-though I really CAN understand people feeling cheated by it. However it is nowhere as good as the book.

SPOILER: The ending in the movie was widely critiscized for differing from the book-I can actually understand both sides-I cared about Mark in Hinton's book-of coarse reading it one wants a happy ending for all involved-even if thats the easy way out.

Yet the movie's which ended alot more sunny then the book also felt a bit unrealistic-because I doubt, sadly it WOULD happen that way in reality-so it's like:be careful what you wish for-you just might get it. By that I mean, reading the book you weep at the ending, wishing it could be different-but then it IS different in the movie and you feel a bit cheated. Tough call to make if changing the ending was a good idea or not.

But I STILL liked this movie and thought it was welldone-I'd recomend it to anyone who hasn't seen it-the story still touches you and the acting is credible.

Ughh.....

[short_dancer3 · 3/10 · 6 July 2006]

This movie was really bad. If it would've been directed by Francis Coppola, it might've been better but, this movie was really bad. It didn't even end like the book did. Emilio did a good job acting but, it doesn't make up for the many other mistakes made. They made Emilio the center of the story when, the bond between Mark and Bryon was supposed to be the center. This movie really should've had S.E. Hinton involved and Francis Coppola should've directed. I loved the book, but this movie really depressed me at how much better it could've been. The casting was decent but again, couldn't save the movie. The ending is what really made it bad. If it would've ended like the book, it could've been a little better but not by much. See the movie for yourself. You might come to different conclusion than I did.

A Milestone Movie

[gr4kk3r · 5 August 2001]

I was born in 1970. While many movies such as Pretty In Pink, etc. were bigger hits, these movies along with a couple of others were incredibly important in what it means to be a friend, what it meant to grow up, and what it meant to grow up in the 80's. It wasn't a "great" movie, but it was a great movie for me and is a great movie about growing up, deciding what is important, forming morals. Will be on my buy list when I get a little money.

I actually liked the movie until it ended.

[TopperHarley29 · 6/10 · 6 January 2013]

When I saw the movie I actually liked it. I was satisfied with how they used the important stuff from the book, but when I saw the ending it diminished my opinion on this movie. If you read the book then you would know how dark and depressing it was. That is why I liked the book so much because it doesn't cheapen the story by having a happy ending. The movie had the typical Hollywood happy ending. It would be easier for me to forgive the movie if it didn't have that cheesy, happy 80's music playing at the end. If you loved the book then do yourself a favor and don't see this movie. I would only recommend seeing this if you're a big Morgan Freeman fan because his performance is pretty good and is worth seeing for his performance alone if you're a fan. I really can't blame Emilio Estevez since the studio made him change the ending and I know he wouldn't have intended to write a happy ending.

Combination of good and bad

[udar55 · 7/10 · 7 June 2022]

Buddies Bryon (Craig Sheffer) and Mark (Emilio Estevez) have grown up together in the same house after a tragedy in Mark's family. In their last year of high school, the two begin to grow apart as Bryon sees a different future and Mark wants to continue his hellraising ways. Based on the novel by S. E. Hinton (who also authored The Outsiders and Tex), this movie is a combination of good and bad. Director Christopher Cain handles it all well, but sometimes the script (by Emilio Estevez, his first foray behind the camera) is overly melodramatic. Sheffer is good as the lead and Morgan Freeman is great in a important supporting role. They filmed in Minnesota, so like similar films such as Reckless (1984), it captures that area of America well.

Decent film on it's own, but not as good as the book.

[jcbutthead86 · 7/10 · 1 June 2012]

That Was Then...This Is Now is decent 80s Teen film and although it is filled with good direction and great performances it is still the weakest S.E Hinton film adaptation but still has good things about it.

Based on S.E Hinton's novel,That Was Then...This Is Now tells the story of Bryon(Craig Sheiffer)and Mark(Emilo Estevez)two teens that have been best friends since childhood almost like brothers,stealing cars,getting Into fights with rivals,and living carefree, but when Bryon starts dating a girl from their childhood named Cathy(Kim Delaney),a tragic event that changes their lives and their teenage years fading away they both realize that That Was Then...This Is Now.

S.E Hinton is one of my favorite authors and I had seen the film adaptations The Outsiders,Rumble Fish and Tex and loved them and also read her books and loved them as well. That Was Then...This Is Now was a great book that I loved but was the only film adaptation I hadn't seen. I finally saw this film and while the film is not as good as the book there is still some good and decent things about the film. The movie That Was Then...This Is Now is easily the weakest of the S.E Hinton film adaptations and they're things that work and don't work. One of the things that works is the main characters,realistic feel and atmosphere. Bryon and Mark's relationship in the film authentic and real and you feel like they could be real brothers,especially since they're living in a harsh setting and you feel like Bryon and Mark would have each other's back no matter what. When things start to fall apart for Bryon and Mark and the characters start arguing and fighting with each other and Bryon and Mark's friendship and since of brotherhood starts to become strained and it's very believable and at times sad. The film depicts a dark and dangerous teenage world where things such as gang violence,fighting,drug use and drinking seems to always be the norm for Bryon and Mark as well as other characters who going by the laws of the streets and the film's atmosphere is sometimes very bleak and downbeat. The film also has a dark,gritty film-noir feel to it that you didn't see a lot in Teen Films at the time with great harsh lighting and photography and that's one of the things that I like about the film is that the photography gives the film a since of darkness and reality. Although the movie is well filmed and has great lighting it lacks the great and powerful cinematic feel that the other S.E Hinton movie adaptations The Outsiders,Rumble Fish and Tex had. The screenplay written by Estevez while good lacks the emotional punch that Hinton's novel had and the screenplay feels limited. Where In Hinton's novel we got to know more about the characters and there was more scenes with the characters,in the film we know the characters but there Isn't enough time in the film for development for the characters and the friendship between Bryon and Mark feels underdeveloped and small in the film compared to the book. I don't understand why the location and time period were changed from Oklahoma to Minnesota from 60's to 80's. I guess one of the main reasons the time period was changed was because of budget costs,but the location and time period change killed some of the important elements in the book and I guess Paramount Pictures and the filmmakers wanted something that teens in the 80s could relate to. And speaking of changes the biggest change and difference from the book is the movie's ending which destroy's the greatness of the novel's ending and it rings completely false. Where's the novel's ending was more powerful and sad the movie's is predictable and didn't belong in this film. Maybe because the novel's ending was very sad and truly pessimistic the ending had to change because in the 1980s optimistic endings were more accepted and sad endings such as the sad ending in the book weren't allowed during the 1980s. It's not Emilio Estevez's fault though blame Paramount Studios who told Estevez to change the ending in his screenplay.

The cast does a good job in their roles. Emilio Estevez(who also wrote the screenplay)does a excellent job as Mark,bringing humor,anger and sadness to the role. Craig Sheiffer does a fantastic job as Bryon and has an good chemistry with Estevez. Morgan Freeman does a great job as Charlie the bartender the only grown up friend of Bryon and Mark. Kim Delaney does a wonderful job as Cathy,Bryon's girlfriend. Jill Schoelen gives a fabulous performance as Angela,Bryon's ex-girlfriend. Barbara Babcock is wonderful as Bryon's mom. Frank Howard does a great job as M&M,Cathy's spaced-out brother. Larry B. Scott gives a funny and memorable performance as Bryon and Mark's friend Terry.

Christopher Cain does a fine job directing the film,bringing lots of energy and atmosphere to the film and always moving the camera.

The score by Bill Cuomo and Keith Olsen is good and adds to the film's tone and feel. I also like songs Just Another Day(Oingo Boingo)and the title song That Was Then...This Is Now(Randy Wayne and Carroll Sue Hill).

Overall That Was Then...This Is Now is a decent film on It's own with fine acting from the cast and good direction,but as an adaptation of the novel it's lacks what made the book so great. Recommended 7.5/10.

Interminably long

[chrislarkby · 2/10 · 29 November 2018]

Childhood friendship ends when one of the boys discovers girls and leaves his wingman behind. Jilted friend resorts to cockblocking.

Bad writing and bad acting served up in equal doses. Awful soundtrack. Unlikeable characters across the board. Terrible cinematography.

Someone owes it to the author of "The Outsiders" to remake her book into a better movie.

Screw you guys this was a great movie

[iluvpink8 · 8/10 · 16 August 2006]

Me and my mom watched this movie because I'm in love with Emilio Estevez, and thought he was great in this movie. All the acting was great, for kids so young. Sure the director isn't a Francis Ford Copolla, but he still captures the essence of two teenage boys, living in the 60s. (Or the 80s, which it sometimes seems.) As for the adaptation, it really was not that bad. It caught most stuff (Ex. getting drunk, cutting off Angela's hair, e.t.c....)

The only thing that was stupid were the Shepard boys. "Sing me Jingle Bells" -WTF. They seemed like they were trying too hard to be bad.

Emilio does a great job as Mark, and Greg Sheffer as Bryon. Even Cathy and Angela were just as I pictured them.

All in all it's no Outsiders/Rumble Fish but still a great movie.

As time goes on, someone's always left behind.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 16 June 2023]

Hurrah, mana bear Barbara Babcock, showing son Craig Sheffer and eternal houseguest Emilio Estevez how cornflakes become frosted breakfast nook style. Estevez is a troubled teen, longtime best friend of Sheffer's, a kid from a tragic family whos self esteem is really low to the point where he doesn't have the capability of moving past his upbringing. Having lost his parents to suicide, he was lucky to be taken in by his best friend, but how much can Sheffer take as he tries to grow up?

While the book this was based on was a followup to "The Outsiders", the movie was altered time wise to be set in the 80's so it lessens the impact and results in quite a different story. Kim Delaney, fresh from playing the sweet Jenny on "All My Children", is tougher in playing Sheffer's girlfriend, helping him deal with his problems concerning Estevez and a few other troubled teens, one fragile young man having a drug overdose. She quickly tires of Estevez who can't get past selling drugs, and this results in the beginning of the estrangement between the longtime pals.

Liking this, but not loving it, I found the film depressing, frequently slow and humorless, although Bach as the mother does add a nice touch with her saga advice, loving Estevez as if he was her own unconditionally. Morgan Freeman is excellent as Estevez's understanding parole officer, offering both young men some truly wise advice that in one case goes unheeded. Perhaps not the perfect teen 80's movie, but certainly takes no prisoners in reminding young adults how the wrong path can quickly ruin one's life.

Insightful coming of age story, though probably not for SE Hinton fans...

[amergent · 8/10 · 27 January 2023]

I originally watched this movie as a late night movie in the 90s and thought it was OK. I re-watched it recently as I enjoy old 80s movies for the nostalgia; particularly movies starring Estevez. I didn't realize this movie had any connection to SE Hinton so I held no bias regarding a comparison with the novel.

When I watched The Outsiders (having no familiarity with that novel either), the greasers came across as a little too sugary sweet at times; but that's just my opinion. The Outsiders was a good movie but I didn't relate to the 50s time period and I held no particular affection to the story since it was not a novel I read growing up. Though I do understand that this is not a sequel to The Outsiders, this movie feels like it's in a completely different universe than The Outsiders; the sets of movie take place in the big-city while The Outsiders takes place in small town America. I actually found this movie more relatable when I watched this in my younger years, though I can see how it might be a miss to someone familiar with the novel.

While the novel was to take place in the 60's, this is clearly set in the 80s as evidenced by the clothing. Bryon's (Scheffer) clothes on the date scene are quintessentially 80s - an oversized shirt with rolled up sleeves & puffy Bulgle Boy style pants. Mark (Estevez) is wearing a green pastel shirt with rolled up sleeves. Also, Terry starts spitting out that clumsy 80s hip-hop rap. A 66' Thunderbird is featured in the movie that's offered by Charlie but that single prop didn't impress on me that this was taking place in the 60s. I actually appreciate the 80s feel as it made the movie more relatable when I watched it in my younger years (early 90s for me). On the other hand, I have to wonder if this was an attempt to make the movie more commercially successful by trying to assimilate with many other 80s teen coming-of-age stories being released at that time.

Even with a screenplay adaptation, the writing is insightful. Most coming of age stories have a happy ending where this one is less hopeful - some folks will grow up while others won't. There's a sadness when Bryon and Mark realize things are changing. To me, this is the most impactful and relatable scene in the movie. The other scene with depth is Bryon coming to realize that he can't control Mark's actions and behavior. It's a shame that more of today's teen movies don't delve into these heavy topics. I can appreciate any narrative that treats teens as adults as a young people tend to meet the expectations set on them.

That being said, the characterizations are a bit off. Mark and Bryon come across as more of jocks - not the kind of group that would casually steal cars and laugh about it. Bryon wants to put the silly behavior behind him so his more clean cut appearance makes sense but you never actually see much of a conversion from delinquent to being clean cut besides Mark razzing him about being a drag and commenting about how, in the past, he wouldn't so easily let go of rival's slights.

Had more been revealed about Mark and Bryon's back story as delinquents, it would have made the theme of maturity and growing up more impactful. Mark could have worn clothes more akin to John Bender in Breakfast Club rather than the letter-jacket adorned by Estevez's jock character in the same movie. This alone would have better pointed out the juxtaposition of Bryon growing up while Mark was hanging on to his troubled younger years. Regardless, in my opinion, Estevez does pull off playing the role of a hoodlum.

Though a bit disjointed, I still really enjoy the movie. I actually re-watch this one from time to time for late night entertainment.

"The movie was okay, but the book was better"

[pbarron-1 · 5 February 2003]

In English class, we read S.E. Hinton's saga of teenage angst. The students were enthralled with the story. While the setting was from years past, the ethical questions raised and the teenage situations were quite apropos. The story generated a great deal of quality discussion in class...education at it's finest.

The movie, however, was a bit of a disappointment for us. Taken by itself, it was a fine example of 80's brat-packish fluff. It was formulamatic, but entertaining. One could hardly say that the movie was based on the book, though. Bryon's personal growth journey and coming of age, so well illustrated in the novel, was sacrificed to car chases and Hollywood's penchant for tidy endings, in the movie.

While I would recommend both, I would caution that they are two separate stories, sharing the same character names. Perhaps there is the lesson: You cannot watch the movie to get out of reading the book! .

Fails to do the book justice

[lansorme · 16 July 2000]

This is a very poor adaption of one of S.E. Hinton's best novels. The characterizations are quite off the mark, and there is little to no development of situations and characters. Periodically the viewer is thrown into really weak attempts at "deep", philosophical dialogue from out of nowhere - straight out of the book but oddly out of place in this disjointed film.

The acting is not much better. Only Frank Howard (as M&M) and Morgan Freeman (as Charlie) really make their roles believable. Emilio Estevez, perhaps due to the script itself, never makes Mark the character he needs to be to actually propel the story in the right direction.

All I can make of this film is an attempt at grabbing the same attention as "The Outsiders", another (and much better) film adaption of a S.E. Hinton novel. Both books/films have a few characters in common, some similar themes, and Emilio Estevez. "That was then..." just doesn't work out.

One of Estevez's best early performances

[DunnDeeDaGreat · 14 July 2002]

That Was Then... This Is Now is one of the best early performances of Emilo Estvez as a writer and actor. Estevz brings Mark to life they way S.E.Hinton intened by being brutal and cut throat in his performace. All of the actors in the film give equally good performacnes in particular Morgan Freemen and Craig Sheffer. A underlooked gem.