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Seventeen-year-old Jones Dillon (Elijah Wood) is the wised-up innocent at the centre of this funky, fascinating, fantasy-riddled comedy. Arriving for his first day at college pulling a massive steamer trunk behind him on a rope, Jones finds himself rooming with a menacing skinhead. Not exactly fond of confrontation, Jones immediately gives up on the dorm and rents an apartment in a big, old house across town, but only after being nearly run down by a punk in a Camaro. His day gets better when he first sees the eccentric and volatile Jane (Franka Potente), one of his new neighbours, but takes another nosedive when she sprays him with mace and photographs him while he squirms on the floor.

Jeffrey Porter’s take on the coming-of-age, “finding oneself” genre is as colourful as it is irreverently witty (a sly first-act riff on Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” is a sudden delight and augurs more fun to come). Jones navigates his way around such quandaries as learning to use a corkscrew, taking revenge on the bullies and finally learning the truth about his father, to whom he has typed several years’ worth of undeliverable letters. Of course, Jones is also intent on winning his dream girl – once he figures out who she is.

Jones learns more from his new acquaintances than from any college class and he rides his unbelievably vivid imagination through a number of hilarious scenarios. Along with Jane, his other roommates include pistol-toting, cowboy hat-wearing artist Brad (Aaron Pearl) and Lisa, an aspiring actress and the resident vixen (played with an exquisitely studied blend of vamp and girl-next-door cuteness by teen idol Mandy Moore). Jones also catches the eye of Ma Mabley, a used furniture dealer who pitches him lines like “A happy bed makes for a happy home” (another unforgettable film appearance by Deborah Harry, in lavender-swathed ensembles complete with a matching feather-topped pen).

With an enjoyably off-kilter shooting style and a far-reaching, perfectly tuned soundtrack, Try Seventeen is unexpectedly touching, generous with its insights and simply lots of fun.

- Michèle Maheux

Jeffrey Porter graduated from the University of Oregon and began his career as a camera assistant for cinematographers Janusz Kaminski and Phedon Papamichael. He also shot several projects for Roger Corman before turning to feature film directing. His films include: Train Quest (01) and Try Seventeen (02).