Customer Reviews

Skipped Parts [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Skipped Parts, or Wonder of Sex its UK title, is an absolutely charming gem of a movie.
I was completely engrossed by this coming of age story, that is very rewarding for the viewer, offering some good script, tight direction and wonderful acting.
The unconventional relationship between a liberated mother and her teenage son on one hand and her occasional indian lover on the other, and the unconventional friendship between her son and his 'girlfriend', discovering sex together(which results in a pregnancy), this is all filmed with such care and seeming simplicity, yet without being judgemental. This is why it works so well.
The acting is top class! Jennifer Jason Leigh proving yet again that not only she is one of the best actresses around today, but that she chooses her roles very well. Bug Hall and Mischa Barton (who again does a very good job in TV's Once and Again) are very promising talented actors.
The teenagers attitude towards sex is charmingly naive and at times funny. When Barton's character is staying at sam's place after her pregnancy (since her father did not tolerate what happened), and he offers to sleep outside on the couch, she charmingly suggests to him ina straight faced manner..sleep on the floor in case I need you!.
So Skipped Parts is a very rewarding and sadly underrated film, that well deserves to be in your collection.

This is a great coming of age story that I have watched twice in one week since I decided to buy it on a whim. The story of Lydia and Sam and their exile to Wyoming, their unconventional relationship as mother and son is unforgettable. Lydia isn't a woman who is very good at being a mother considering she drinks quite heavily and goes home with men at the bar. When Sam meets a girl named Maurey, they both decide to start trying to figure out what sex is like. Lydia tells them how to have sex and from that point on, this movie is a strange, oddball journey. This film shows what can happen to kids who grow up too fast, but it does this in a way that is heart-warming and different than most films.

I especially liked Michael Greyeyes' character, Hank Elkrunner. He plays a good guy who falls for Lydia only to have to deal with her wild ways. All of the actors in this film did a great job. And surprisingly, this film has a happy ending.

All in all, a great, funny film that is sure to stay with you long after its over. Hilarious

"Skipped Parts" takes place in 1963. It is narrated by Sam (Bug Hall), a seventh-grader, and aspiring writer. He doesn't know who his father is because his mother, Lydia (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a promiscuous lush. Sam's Grandfather sends them away, with his financial support, so he won't be embarrassed by her when he runs for Governor of South Carolina.

They end up in Wyoming, where Sam meets Maurey (Mischa Barton) during a school baseball game. They argue about Mark Twain in class. Shortly after, Maurey and her mom (Peggy Lipton) do a neighborly visit - the Welcome Wagon. Lydia is embarrassingly rude to them. Later, Sam tells his mom he thinks he's in love with Maurey cuz he can't stand her. Sam gets teased and hassled by girls in school, and also by Maurey's boyfriend, Dothan (Brad Renfro). On November 22, 1963, Kennedy is shot. Maurey is very upset and cries, and Sam consoles her. Dothan makes some racist remarks, and Maurey and Sam go to her house. In another fantasy, Sam kisses Maurey's mom. He has a resulting nocturnal emission and shows his mom. Later, Sam tells Maurey about it at the soda shop, and she talks to a waitress about sex. Maurey later shows up to "make sex" with Sam as a learning experience. They try but fail in a funny scene. Later, Lydia gives them a sex talk and advice. Maurey inevitably gets pregnant, and after some initial reluctance, Sam seems happy as a father.

The movie is well-acted by all. There is quite a bit of humor, too. The movie is R-Rated for language, which includes frank sexual talk, and sexual content. However, the sex scenes involving Sam and Maurey are tame and mostly set up by the dialog, which is quite funny. This is probably Mischa's best movie after "Lawn Dogs". Drew Barrymore has a small part in Sam's fantasies.

The movie only skims the book, which has more sex-related and bodypart-related dialog.

The DVD has a good commentary by director Tamra Davis, and a trailer.

The "Skipped Parts" are, as you might expect, the little details of sex that are omitted from most stories. Two fourteen-year-olds decide to work out the details themselves, with a little advice from the boy's licentious Mother and a lot of free time together. The film begins with the Mother's rich politician Father exiling her and her illegitimate teenage son from their North Carolina home to Wyoming so they won't be an embarrassment during his political campaign. The story really belongs to the Mother and her new Indian boyfriend. She was about her son's age when she found herself pregnant and dealing with his concerns helps her sort out her own life. It is a lighthearted look at moral bigotry, responsibility, and mixed up relationships. This is a generally delightful, tasteful, and witty comedy compromised by sometimes shallow characterizations and blessed with occasional insights.

Notice while you skim the other reviews, the only people who say this is a bad movie are the ones who've read the book. Those people are way too sensitive and end up slandering the actors, all because society couldn't handle the X-rated version of this movie starring 14 year olds that the book's literal translation would've been. OF COURSE IT WAS DUMBED DOWN AND LOST MOST OF IT'S SEXUALITY. It's America. We don't like to talk about true tragic events, like teen pregnancy or drunken parents.

So, ignoring the book, here's the movie: Decent actors play out, most convincingly, the story of a family who is moved from their rich lifestyle to live all alone in a hickville. The mother, who is politically incorrect for the time period, is unnaturally liberal and, thought not portrayed as a tragedy, distant from her son. Scenes in which she inadvertandly tastes his semen, in which the son's girlfriend brings him to accidental climax, in which the two announce that they'll be leaving the room to have sex IN FRONT OF THE MOTHER WHO DOES NOTHING TO STOP THEM... it's all satyrical, but you have it constantly in your head that while it IS funny in this film's context, it happens and isn't funny elsewhere. Cameo by Drew Barrymore as the fantasy girl. Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh as the nutbag mom, Bug Hall (The Little Rascals) as the son, and an onslaught of talented others to fill out the rest of the cast, the film has some very disturbing dramatic and (obviously disturbing) comedic scenes. Quite an odd little film.

Still, the book goes WAY PAST the movie, so if for some reason, this movie fills out your sick desires... grab the book, you'll really enjoy. If you like the movie due to style and humor and plot, grab the book - it's so much better. STILL, I give the film a 4. Great stuff. Sticks with you for a while.

This movie was in many ways for me a major disappointment. By itself, it is excellent, with great, oddball performances from its entire cast, and including wonderful cameo appearances by Drew Barrymore as the Dream Girl. I would have absolutely adored this genuinely bizzare but loving black comedy...if only I had not already read the book. The book by Tim Sandlin, also called "Skipped Parts" is one of the best coming-of-age stories I have ever read. It is funny, crazy, and poignant. The movie didn't capture even a tenth of the charm of the book, and also did not handle the relationship between Maurey and Sam very well. This is a result of trying to tone down what is in essence a story of two young children experimenting with sex. This made their story seem more like a by-the-books moralistic tale than the authority-be-damned, life-affirming tale that it really is. The characters in the book are understandable; the characters in the movie are understandable...only if you've previously read the book. So my advice is read the book first, and then see the movie. For a fan of the book, it contains enough great moments to make one smile. But I don't think this film will win any new fans who are not already familiar with Sandlin's work.

Picked this DVD up at the library, believe it or not. Sounded interesting. Had NOT read the book, so we were able to take it at face value.

My husband and I found ourselves laughing and getting into the lives of these quirky characters, even though they had very little for us to identify with. Jennifer Jason Leigh was very good, as were Mischa Barton and Bug Hall.

The best part of this movie was the scenic views of Wyoming countryside. Okay, I read that it was actually filmed in Canada. But they did do a good job of presenting the natural side of their area.

Overall, this was a good movie, although not in my Top 20 favorites. Worth watching, especially if you can check it out for free from the library.

By the way, I know nothing about this, but apparently there is another movie (a prequel, at that) with the same characters from the trilogy by Tim Sandlin: it is called Floating Away. Not sure if I would see that one or not...

I saw this movie on the Women's channel Oxygen, which of course deletes certain parts concerning sex or anything like that. I thought it was "good", not "great", but not "bad". Mischa Barton and Bug Hall...what an interesting combination eh? I would buy it, it was good, I would watch it if it were a rainy day though.

I live in the area which this movie was filmed, Regina, Lumsden, Regina Beach, Saskatchewan Canada. I can remeber watching the making of this film and hearing the buzz about it on the local TV stations and newspapers. I have eaten at the Blue Bird Cafe, and still do, the cafe at which Lydia ends up working. I can say without question that this is one of the best comedies I have seen ever. It has a touch of strong emotion and a lot of flat out humour. This is a movie that you can watch anytime, more then once. I strongly recomend this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This one is worth watching purely for the amazingly talented and incredibly handsome Michael Greyeyes. Without Michael the movie would be absolutely nothing and not at all worth watching. Five stars for Michael alone!!!