I LOVE this movie, have loved it for several years, and of course this is another one that my mother refers to as depressing, and it is kind of but it's not like it's just for the hell of it, but to tell the full story.

I've always loved the character of Vada Sultenfuss, and it's funny because for several years I only saw bits and pieces of it on TV, so from what little information I had, I thought that Vada, because she was so smart and knew so much, was in some kind of advanced class in school since all the other students were adults. So I was kind of let down when I saw the whole movie and found out she was just in a summer writing course, but that does make more sense I suppose.

Love this movie, do NOT like the end, and it's not because Thomas J dies but I HATE in almost every movie done where a girl is a tomboy, by the end of it she changes and wears dresses and all that, and the sequel was terrible, to say the least. I saw the sequel once, NEVER AGAIN, they screwed up everything in putting Vada on a quest to find out about her mother, first of all we see her picture in the first movie and she was not a glamour queen by any means like what they had in the sequel...to this day I don't even touch that one, I stick with the first and where I'm concerned, only.

I've seen both for the first time recently. I think both have their charm. I liked the first better obviously.

Vada reminds me of Starr from One Life To Live. Not just in appearance but in attitude. My second novel had a character I could see being influence by both Vada and Starr.

I've never seen One Life to Live, it seems to me a character like Vada is very rare and we could stnad a few more of them in movies today instead of the brats we do who you just want to see somebody smack.

always LOVED this movie, i love the part where vada says she "only surrounds herself by people she finds intelectually stimulating", then thomas j looks up at shelly and smiles.

seen in theatres, and it made me cry

My aunt took me and my cousins to see it when it was in theaters. Yeah, very sad/unsettling ending. Really good performances by the cast.

Supernova wrote:

I've never seen One Life to Live, it seems to me a character like Vada is very rare and we could stnad a few more of them in movies today instead of the brats we do who you just want to see somebody smack.

She probably is rare. But I don't think she's the only one. Vada and Starr not only looked remarkably alike as kids but, from what I remember of Starr before she grew up, they had similar personalities. Maybe it's just me, the two just seem very similar.