Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Waxing nostalgic about the bittersweet passage from childhood to puberty, four childhood girlfriends — Teeny, Chrissy, Samantha and Roberta — recall the magical summer of 1970. During their walk down memory lane, they reconcile experiences with boys, secrets, bullies and more.
Now and Then is a charming but formulaic coming-of-age ensemble piece that draws obvious comparisons to Stand By Me, swapping the boys for girls in a 1970s nostalgic framework. The plot hits familiar beats — childhood secrets, first crushes, neighborhood bullies — without much surprise. The young cast performs earnestly and the adult framing device adds warmth, but neither the child nor adult performances rise to exceptional. Cinematography is competent but unremarkable, leaning on period-appropriate soft lighting without real visual distinction. Novelty is limited; while the female-centered perspective was somewhat underrepresented in 1995, the execution follows a well-worn template closely. The ending wraps things up sentimentally but predictably, failing to deliver any emotional punch beyond comfortable nostalgia.