H M While the characters that were created for Taylor and Phoenix to play were (IMHO) two-dimensional, the performances by both took these roles above and beyond and turned them into something that, while at times bordered on cliché phrases used by either a girl into the music of the 60's, or a jarhead, as it were, were utterly believable and seemingly natural.Also, on a different note, I was taken aback by how River slipped into this role so seamlessly. It was great to have seen some movies of his and to think I had a sort of grasp on potential roles, being type-cast, but then to see him in this and see how he truly made the role his own, and how he came across, no, he was, so very genuine.

crystalnclear Sometimes films just click - and this is a film that had everything right - the right actors cast in the right roles, the right screenplay, the right direction and the right story line. The result is an absolutely unforgettable film that takes you on a delightful roller-coaster ride of emotions that you will want to experience again and again. The performance of River Phoenix and Lili Taylor make this film timeless.The storyline is pretty much this - young marines on the eve of shipping out to the eventual destination of Vietnam stopping over in San Francisco with an pretty sick party idea - a competition with prize money for who can bring the ugliest woman. The real essence of the story begins when the date of one young marine finds out the true purpose of her presence at the party and stands up to him - verbally ripping him to shreds before storming out with as much dignity as she can muster - and his immediate true remorse and shame - resulting in his pursuit of the girl he initially wanted to use as part of a cruel competition but ends up falling deeply for.I have seen a few of River Phoenix's films and i have to say after experiencing him in the role of Eddie Birdlace it is absolutely impossible to imagine any other actor that could come close to presenting us this initially downright unlikeable character in such an layered and completely charming way. Even his role in Stand by Me pales in comparison with what he has managed to pull off here. Though the character of Birdlace represents the young, cocky, male macho teen generation on the brink of manhood - with a large capacity for insensitivity when it comes to the opposite sex - he effortlessly manages to reveal layer by layer the hidden sensitivity and sweetness of this character that only a person like Rose could bring out. He manages to convey emotion in a 2 second look that the majority of actors would not be able to achieve in an entire film. I think that River never looked sexier or played a character so detached from who he was as a person in real life - but who the audience could believe so easily that it wasn't acting - the mark of a true artist - imagine what he could have achieved had he not left us so young.As for Lili Taylor - one word - AMAZING - this woman was born to act! Lili Taylor plays the character of Rose in an ugly duckling role that has you wishing by the end of the film that you had a smidgen Rose's appeal and true beauty. A young girl on the brink of womanhood who while she embodies all the insecurities that a non-pretty girl at that age has towards the opposite sex, she nevertheless chooses to hope, trust and put herself out there in order to experience life and not let it pass her by stuck in her mother's diner - even after a humiliating experience.The way the film takes you on the characters journey together throughout the evening is believable and natural - you begin to truly like Eddie and see why Rose is attracted to him and you begin to LOVE Rose even more. The story progresses in such a way that you could totally believe that two such different people could fall in love (real love) in the space of a night. The intimate scenes between Eddie and Rose are full of the angst, hesitancy and downright passion that only first love can bring. In my opinion the ending is appropriate and respectful of the type of love the two discovered on that fateful first night.I repeat that it is a movie that will stay with you and one that you will want to re-visit again and again - a film that i consider a true masterpiece of the simplicity and power of human emotion and what can happen when people get down to just being themselves and taking a chance of opening up to another human being.

vettmann99 I was unaware that River Phoenix was the main character in this film, my being much older than most of his fans. He gives a very creditable performance of what it was to be a young, somewhat immature Marine about to ship out into the unknown. I know quite a bit about young Marines on liberty as I was an Armed Forces Police (MP) stationed in Okinawa during 1968-70 outside of and patrolling Kin Village and Henoko among other towns..The period clothing is right on the mark. The scene in the fancy restaurant where the maître d mentions that a "windbreaker is not a jacket" was great as most of the off duty Marines wore windbreakers. It is a true love story about two young people finding a budding relationship on the cusp of their adult lives during this time of turmoil. What did they have in common just the fact that they were young and he's a man (boy) and she's a woman (girl) and let nature take care of the rest?The story time line was way off. There were only very, very few Marines in Vietnam in 1963 as advisors if any and they would have been older, more experienced Marines. Thee Marines arrived in Vietnam in March of 1965 to protect Da Nang air base and it wasn't for some time until they were given the go ahead to patrol out side of there AO and operation Starlight where the heavy fighting began. That the younger Marines like the four bee's would have been in country. Also our hero arrived back home in 1966 ??? He would have been over seas for three years??? The story line should have been from 1965-1966 but it appears that the screen writers wanted to put in the JFK assignation into the story at the cost of historical creditability.

recklessron Engrossing tale that hooks you into the two main characters.It slowly builds them into a wonderful romance for 95% of the film - all set prior to the Vietnam War - and then spends no time at all on the war, the male protagonists role in it, his return and their ultimate reunion, which takes all of 1 minute.In the last few minutes the film raises the question of whether their one night of passion has produced an offspring but then leaves that, and the rest of the questions surrounding the couple, unanswered.As such, I found it to be an unsatisfying experience despite being entertained for the majority of the film.Without the last 10 minutes, and at the same pace, this could easily have been part one of an epic trilogy.