‘All the Fine Boys’ a dark teen tale

‘ALL THE FINE BOYS’: Abigail Breslin & Joe Tippett. Photo: Monique Carboni

ALL THE FINE BOYS
Written & directed by Erica Schmidt
Through March 26, 2017
The New Group at Pershing Square Signature Center
480 West 42nd Street
(212-279-4200), www.thenewgroup.org

By Scott Harrah

The limits and boundaries of two teenage girls’ innocence and coming-of-age sexual identities are explored with gritty sincerity in suburban 1980s South Carolina in Erica Schmidt’s dark, disturbing All the Fine Boys.

Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin is the obvious draw here, but she’s part of a truly gifted ensemble. Ms. Breslin plays 14-year-old Jenny. She and her best friend Emily (Isabelle Fuhrman) both enjoy hanging out in the basement watching “slasher” horror movies, and they are anxious for real experience with boys. In their world, this means seeking older guys. The paths each choose, of course, has different levels of danger.

Emily selects a senior boy from her high school’s play, Adam (Alex Wolff), while Jenny goes after a man she has seen at her family’s church, Joseph (Joe Tippett). The play, at just one hour and 40 minutes with no intermission, focuses on each girl’s story.

Emily is fascinated by Adam, who’s into music and poetry, and she idolizes the guy. He is just a few years older than her. Meanwhile, Jenny’s story is a bit complicated since Joseph is twice her age at 28.

Playwright/director Erica Schmidt weaves the narrative of the two girls together beautifully, complete with 1980s classic pop songs, showing the parallels of each and their troubling twists. On the surface this appears to be a harmless account of two teenagers experiencing boys for the first time. However, the girls’ innocence will soon be shattered.

Ms. Breslin wonderfully portrays Jenny, a girl who enjoys eating Pringles potato chips and Twizzlers and experiments with cigarette smoking. She has everything about Jenny down, from the smoldering adult sensuality to the awkward vulnerability to the gawky mannerisms. She is every teen who has ever wanted to simply fit in. Jenny is a teen wanting desperately to appear grown up, but is too inexperienced and naïve to comprehend what it really means to get involved with an adult man. Ms. Breslin has definitely come a long way from her breakout role as the child beauty queen in Little Miss Sunshine.

Equally effective are Isabelle Fuhrman as her best friend Emily and Mr. Wolff as the theater nerd/musician who teaches her about poetry, Morrissey and the Smiths.

Joe Tippett gives a marvelously subtle portrayal of Joseph, the handsome man Jenny knows from church. He at first appears innocuous, almost apologetic for being attracted to someone so young, but it is unsettling watching his personality change as the plot unfolds.

Erica Schmidt does a fine job of blending the different scenes as the setting shifts, from Jenny and Joseph to Emily and Adam, all on a small stage. The cast are all so natural, and the dialogue so believable that we are left rattled by the many twists, even if some are ultimately a bit cliché. Although Ms. Schmidt has not chosen the most original subject matter, there is enough stellar acting here to make us overlook the sometimes too-familiar territory of adolescent angst and teenage sexuality.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 1, 2017
Reviewed at press performance on February 25, 2017

‘ALL THE FINE BOYS’: Isabelle Fuhrman & Alex Wolff. Photo: Monique Carboni

‘ALL THE FINE BOYS’: Abigail Breslin & Joe Tippett. Photo: Monique Carboni