Themes: Single Life, Looking For Love, College Life
Main Cast: Elijah Wood, Franka Potente, Mandy Moore, Chris William Martin, Deborah Harry, Elizabeth Perkins, Aaron Pearl
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The romantic comedy Try Seventeen is a coming-of-age tale directed by Jeffrey Porter. Jones Dillon (Elijah Wood) is a young writer who is living on his own for the first time. Jones continually writes letters to the father he has never met, while his mother Blanche (Elizabeth Perkins) resides in Texas. Enrolled in college, he quickly abandons the stifling dormitory setting and eventually his classes as well. He finds an apartment in an old building in the city and befriends his neighbors. The place is filled with colorful artists and other nonconformist types. Jones gets romantically involved with struggling actress Lisa (Mandy Moore) and photographer Jane (Franka Potente). He buys furniture from Ma Mabley (Debbie Harry) and proceeds to try and lose his virginity while searching for his absent father. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
After 17-year-old misfit Jones Dillon drops out of college on his first day, he moves into an old apartment building where he soon becomes entangled in the lives of his kooky new neighbors, including a temperamental photographer and a self-absorbed aspiring actress. When he's not busy flirting with the ladies or learning to live on his own, would-be writer Jones divides his time between fending off queries from his alcoholic mother, penning letters to an absentee father, and indulging in an overactive fantasy life. An auto accident forces a reality check, however, nudging Jones to grow up and decide what he really wants.
