Search - Skipped Parts on DVD

"Here's rule number one - you better not squirt."

K. Gittins | CA USA | 06/06/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""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."

Good comedy with sometimes shallow characterizations

David Clapp | TN USA | 08/16/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."