The First Time

The First Time

Directed by James Neilson

Produced by The Mirisch Company

196990 min5.1 / 10

A lighthearted coming-of-age comedy about teenage sexual curiosity and the lies we tell to impress our peers, anchored in 1960s nostalgia and youthful friendship.

With the coming of summer, three high school buddies--Kenny Leeds, Mike Decker, and Tommy Kingsley--anticipate their initiation into the pleasures of manhood. But Kenny is separated from his friends and sent to stay with his grandparents in Buffalo while his father, a widowed salesman, leaves on a business trip with his secretary-fiancée. Bored and alone in a strange city, Kenny writes his two friends letters about his adventures at "Rosie's," a fictitious brothel across the Canadian border in Niagara Falls. His lie quickly backfires.

Questions people ask

  • Is The First Time violent? Barely. Less violent than 76% of films.

  • Is The First Time easy watching? Somewhat. More comforting than 71% of films.

  • Does The First Time end with hope? Somewhat. More hopeful than 70% of films.

  • Is The First Time sad? Not especially. Less sad than 67% of films.

  • Is The First Time scary? Not especially. Less frightening than 58% of films.

These describe how the film comes across, measured across the whole film and compared with other well-known films. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked scene by scene, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.

12/ 100

Cinnamon Score

How much this film gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.

Conventional, and it does not land.

Rarity39

How unlike any other film this one feels

Surprise5

How much more it delivers than it promises

Love5

How much audiences actually like it

The highest scores in the catalogue →

Ensemble

Like The First Time

Nearest across the full emotional profile.

Same Mood as The First Time

Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.

Like The First Time, But Darker

Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.

Like The First Time, But Lighter

Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.

Like The First Time, But Less Popular

Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.

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