FILM REVIEW: The First Time

The First Time. 

The First Time is, unsurprisingly, about two teenagers and their first time. They meet in the alley behind a house party one night as Dave paces up and down trying to figure out what to say to the girl he likes and Aubrey waits for her friends who are no doubt hooking up with people inside. Conversation strikes up between the pair and when the cops show up they make a break for it and that is the start of their relationship. Aubrey has a boyfriend and Dave is supposedly in love with another girl but there seems to be a connection between the pair that develops quickly over the weekend. This film is basically about this pair as they try to figure out what (and who) they want in terms of sex and relationships.


This may seem like your typical, crappy teenage film but it was actually deeper than that. This film explores the minds of two teenage virgins and their thoughts and expectations of their 'first time'. This certainly isn't the best film and there were many flaws as you can expect from this sort of teen drama but I think it did do a fairly good job of portraying teenage thought patterns and the awkwardness of one's first time/first love. This is a very confusing time for most teenagers and this film doesn't glance over that fact. This isn't a teen rom-com where everything is fine and dandy, there are many bumps along the way as Aubrey and Dave try to sort their thoughts out. So, in terms of the main plot this film fulfilled its purpose.

At times I felt that the pace of the film was moving a little two quickly, as was the relationship between Aubrey and Dave. This entire film plays out over the space of one weekend though it seems a lot longer than that. This was probably the most unrealistic thing about the film and made it seem more like a teenagers fantasy, but everything else about this film seemed pretty real. This film makes you laugh and cry and cringe. It is incredibly funny at times, awkward teenage encounters are hilarious - especially when true and realistic, but it was also really poignant and sad at times.

I felt that the acting was absolutely brilliant in this film from the two main roles, most notably, Dylan O'Brien. He is most known for staring the nerdy best friend in MTV's Teen Wolf so he fitted the role of social outcast Dave really well. O'Brien was in his element and managed to bring across an extremely witty but kinda sensitive teenage boy. He's definitely portrayed as a good guy, but he's not perfect, he's still human, and that's what makes him all the more lovable. Nobody does awkward teenager like Dylan O'Brien and he is definitely the best thing about this movie. Britt Robertson didn't do a bad job as Aubrey either. Aubrey is not your stereotypical girl and for the most part Britt Robertson portrayed Aubrey's fiesty character well on screen; however, there were a few moments when Robertson seemed like she was trying to be one of those slightly 'indie' girls (these rare moments were only a slight flaw in the movie though).


All in all this film is full of awkwardness, laughter and emotion. A lot of teenagers will be able to relate to the one or both of the two main characters in some way or another and if you're the sort of person that likes these sort of coming-of-age teen movies then this is definitely for you. This is the sort of movie that critics hate but the public secretly loves. It's not the best film, but you can't help but enjoy it and feel your heart warm to it. There were a couple of twists that made your heart skip a little but for the most part this is a fairly predictable film, but name me a teenage drama that isn't. I would highly recommend this to teenage girls or anyone looking for a fairly lighthearted teenage film that can make you laugh out loud and cry at the same time.