Kate is a rural American teenager whose angst about sexual inexperience drives a comic quest for love and understanding on a birthday to end all birthdays. 16 To Life, shot on location on the Mississippi River, boasts terrifically funny, heartfelt performances from newcomers Hallee Hirsh (KATE), Mandy Musgrave (DARBY), and soulful veteran seductress Theresa Russell (LOUISE). This first feature from Emmy-nominated writer/director Becky Smith (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) puts a wry, witty, and unpredictable ensemble cast in a small-town locale reminiscent of a Capra comedy. Kate's irreverent fantasies of sexual awakening and guilt, fueled by obsessive reading of books on bizarre subjects (currently the Chinese Cultural Revolution) drive this explosive day. Kate is turning 16 and has never been kissed! When best-friend Darby abruptly decides to lose her virginity this very day, mortified Kate pretends not to care by playing matchmaker for her other co-workers, Rene, the stoner cook (Shiloh Fernandez) and emotionally messy Louise (Theresa Russell), the stand owner. Kate pairs Louise with paraplegic customer and amateur Chinese historian, Ronald (Jaime Gomez), unaware of their tragic shared history. For Rene, Kate selects over-sexed Russian co-worker, Tatiana (Emily Foxler), to complicated and hilarious effect. Before the clock strikes midnight, Kate will learn more about love than most 16-year-olds could imagine. And Kate will discover what a 16-year-old American girl has in common with a 16-year-old Chinese girl half a world, and a cultural revolution, away. -- (C) Official Site
This low-key romantic comedy is a bit like a combination of Jane Austen's "Emma" and John Hughes' "16 Candles." It takes a while to get going, but eventually the quirky, likable characters do grow on you.
