Main Cast: Adrian Grenier, Clark Gregg, Aleksa Palladino, Margaret Colin, John Shea
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 104 minutes
Plot
Tod Williams made his feature directorial debut with this teen comedy-drama set in 1983. High school senior and writer wannabe Sebastian Cole (Adrian Grenier) survives a car accident in a remote Southwestern area near the trailer home of a Spanish-speaking woman. As she dresses his wounds, Sebastian looks back over the past year and his dysfunctional family life. After a divorce, Sebastian's near-alcoholic mother Joan (Margaret Colin) remarried. His architect father Hartley (John Shea) was more devoted to career than family. His sister Jessica (Marni Lustig) is off to the West Coast with her dullard boyfriend. Sebastian's stepfather Hank (Clark Gregg) plans a sex change. Since being married to a woman doesn't appeal to Joan, she returns to her native England with Sebastian. Months later, Sebastian moves back to his upstate New York hometown, rejoining Hank. However, Hank is now Henrietta, wearing makeup and women's clothing and serving as both a mother and father figure for Sebastian. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Review
Set in 1983, this period comedy-drama from writer/director Tod Williams recalls the work of author John Irving, particularly the novel and film The World According to Garp (1982). While perhaps a little bit too reminiscent of Irving, The Adventures of Sebastian Cole is that rare independent feature that successfully evokes a meandering, novelistic style without sacrificing clarity, continuity, or entertainment value. Adrian Grenier is a sturdy lead delivering a soulful performance, but the cast standout is undeniably Clark Gregg as Grenier's cross-dressing, tough-loving stepfather Hank. Williams' debut sprawls a bit too much in some places and the overall effect is one of "too much of a good thing." However, it's an overall impressive first time at cinematic bat and marks Williams as a talent to watch; he certainly could do no worse with adapting Irving's material than the creators of Simon Birch (1998). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
In June 1983, in Dutchess County, New York, Sebastian Cole joins his mother, stepfather, and sister for dinner. Hank, Sebastian's stepfather, drops a bomb: he announces he's having a sex change operation. Sebastian's sister leaves immediately for California, and his mother takes him back to England. Eight months later, Sebastian is back in New York, knocking on Hank's door. Hank (now Henrietta) takes Sebastian in and supports him over the next few months of high school. Sebastian's "adventures" are mostly self-destructive.
Anachronisms: The movie that Sebastian and his date go to see is The Mangler. But the film takes place in the mid to late-1980s and The Mangler was released in 1995.
Continuity: When Sebastian is running to catch the school bus his blue scarf is on again, off again through the entire scene after he misses the bus.
Pop culture references
The film features Robert Englund's The Mangler - The sounds of the movie that Sebastian and his date go to see are from said movie.
The film spoofs The Karate Kid - The judges' reactions and Sebastian's moves in his karate demonstration parody "The Karate Kid"'s final tournament scene.
