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Tasteful, but unrealistic


What parent in 1980 (10 years into the mainstreaming of the sexual revolution, and pre-AIDS) thought that their 16 year old child was/could/should be a virgin?

That's where this movie jumped the shark for me.

And if anything, they should be happy she'd be doing it with a 60-year-old man . . . . at least he'll give more thought to birth control than some horny teenage boy who just wants to "get all up in there (consequences be damned)" and then move on to the next girl he can poke.

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I agree! And at least his feeling would have been more tender and thoughtful than a horny boy! That's what I didn't like about this movie---I mean, at least he wasn't a trug addict into bodily mutilation, like a lot of wild folks are now! I can understand them worrying that because he was older, he might want to settle down with her eventually, and that she might not get a chance, therefore, to experience more. But, that being said, the parents were still entirely too harsh! Plus, Ashley was a well-known painter, not some bum off the street! They should have cautioned her to be careful and left it alone.

And, to think, that's the whole reason they split up eventually---not wanting to face ridicule?! Everyone keeps saying how "romantic" this movie is, but the ending ruined the romance!

It's a shame that things ended the way they did in this film, and even more a shame that they end up like that in real life.

For a couple of truly romantic films, watch the similar AGE OF CONSENT (1969), also about an aging artist who falls for a young girl (Helen Mirren's film debut) and watch the almost universally panned MOMENT BY MOMENT (1978), which has a similar theme of romance between older and younger people and what people will think. It is very awkward on the whole---esp. the sex scenes, but it's ultimately a look into what ends up being a very sweet relationship, with a much better ending than the unfortunate CIRCLE OF TWO!

Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!

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