Going All the Way

Awkward, insecure and repressed Sonny Burns (Jeremy Davies) has a problem with women, and so does this fitfully effective adaptation of Dan Wakefield's bestselling 1970 novel (which Kurt Vonnegut reportedly once called "the Midwestern Catcher in the Rye"). Rising star Ben Affleck (Chasing Amy, Good Will Hunting) co-stars as the confident former high school superjock Gunner Casselman, who befriends Sonny following the Korean War. First-time director Mark Pellington goes too far with obtrusive stylistic flourishes that overwhelm this intimate memoir. Also overwhelming are Jill Clayburgh (as Sonny's mother, a stereotypical Bible-thumping harpy) and Leslie Ann Warren (never the most subtle of actresses as Gunner's overly-solicitous mother). Amy Locane and Rose McGowan, in various states of undress, give lie to the notion that the '50s was a buttoned-up decade. The book's cult status makes this a recommended purchase for larger collections. (K. Lee Benson)