‘Spinal Tap’ aside, Rob Reiner made a name for himself as a director early on in his career as a director and producer by making sweet, romantic movies such as “Stand By Me” and “The Princess Bride.” Well, Reiner has returned to his roots with another coming-of-age film in “Flipped.” The movie is in limited release at the moment,but positive word of mouth will no doubt help the movie get wider notice.
“Flipped” oozes nostalgia as it tells the tale of young love from the perspective of both the boy and the girl who, not surprisingly, have different perspectives on the matter of romance.When Juli Baker and Bryce Loski are very young,in second grade actually, it’s Juli who is interested in Bryce.Over the years she bravely, awkwardly, continues to carry the torch for her man. Later on, the circumstances swtich , however, and it is Bryce who has a change of heart, but it just might be too late.

This rather simple and sentimental story is boistered by a great supporting cast including Anthony Edwards and Aidan Quinn. It also has a clever little storytelling device in which we see events from Juli’s side but then also from Bryce’s side which provides quite a bit of humor.
Though the obvious comparison for the film is to Reiner’s “Stand By Me”, I really think of the TV show “The Wonder Years” or even a movie like ” A Christmas Story” as better comparisons. I don’t think “Flipped” is in quite the same league as those two examples, but it is still a fun, mostly engaging trip down memory lane to that innocent world of first love. It’s a sweet treat to wrap up the lazy, hazy days of summer so find it if you can!