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River Phoenix as Jimmy Reardon in ''A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon''
  • Caption: River Phoenix as Jimmy Reardon in ''A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon''
  • Description: River’s Transition to a Young Adult Actor

    At 17, River was no longer a child actor and his search for suitable roles at his age led him to embark on two turkeys in the year of 1987.

    The first of these – “A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon” – broke the hearts of his teeny-bop fans when their idol engaged in an on-screen sexual romp. This teen comedy had a promiscuous River Phoenix trying to raise funds to travel with the girl of his dreams who is going away to college.

    Both River and his father John had reservations about moral issues involved with the movie but his mother Arlyn was more in favour. The young actor’s insecurity (it was two years since his last movie) added weight to his decision to accept the part of Jimmy Reardon. One bonus out of the film for River – apart from his first top billing role - was that he wrote and recorded a demo song “Heart To Get”, which was to be the theme song of the movie but was never included in the finished product. It did allow River to pursue his music passion and got him a development deal with Island Records.

    The movie was universally panned though some critics gave River’s performance as a definite plus in an otherwise scathing critique. One eerily prophetic review in Movie Magazine likened River Phoenix to James Dean with the words “He’s been likened to James Dean – the looks, possibly the level of success in so few, but major films. Dean killed himself at 28. Is that to the hot-house end for River Phoenix?”
  • Actor/Actress/Director: River Phoenix
  • Movie: A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon
  • Id: 11028763
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