In the coming weeks, the Kentucky Theatre will be the home of a special series of films, handpicked and introduced by Transylvania’s own Tim Kirkman, an acclaimed filmmaker and my screenwriting professor. Beyond his experience at Transy, Kirkman is also a screenwriter and producer who has worked across forms, from documentaries to music videos to film. The five films in the series all surround the theme of coming of age, each an exemplar of a different decade, from 1970 to 2010. I sat down with Kirkman to discuss the series.
“Coming of age is a favorite genre of mine,” says Kirkman, “because it’s about how we become who we are, and I love that it confronts issues that are high-stakes: first love, first sexual experience, family dynamics, friendship, and – so often – loyalty. I really love watching a character learn something, and coming of age stories really have a heightened sense of a character change.”
“I started with Harold and Maude because it’s my all time favorite film, but it’s also a terrific coming of age story that deals with life and death and love.” The 1971 film, directed by Hal Ashby, stars Bud Cort as Harold, a young man obsessed with death. The other titular character, Maude, is played by Ruth Gordon. Gordon is also known for her roles in Rosemary’s Baby, as well as many Broadway productions, including Maxwell Anderson’s Saturday’s Children. Harold and Maude was not a critical success upon release, but eventually developed a cult following, and was released on DVD in the Criterion Collection. In 2000, it was listed on the American Film Institute’s 100 funniest films of all time.
“The second film I chose is from the 80s, which is a more unconventional choice, a movie called Risky Business, with Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay.” If you’re familiar with Risky Business, it is likely in the context of Tom Cruise’s iconic dance to the sound of Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock & Roll,” sliding into frame with his white crew socks and a loose button-down. “…when revisiting it, I realized what a satirical take on capitalism it is, and I thought, at this moment in our current political climate, it was a great choice to revisit.”
The 1983 film, directed by Paul Brickman, follows the exploits of Cruise as Joel Goodson, a teenager left at home while his parents are on a trip. The film is widely considered Tom Cruise’s breakout role and a classic 80s teen comedy, often listed alongside John Hughes’s filmography.
“The third film is a largely unseen film, and it’s the one I’m most excited about. It’s Steven Soderbergh’s third feature, called King of the Hill. He’s stated that it is his favorite of his films that he’s ever made, but most people haven’t seen it because it was tied up in legal issues for a long time.” The film, often confused with the unrelated cartoon series of the same name, is an adaptation of a memoir written by A.E. Hotchner, surrounding the story of a young boy growing up in St. Louis during the Great Depression.
For years, it was completely inaccessible to stream after finding no audience upon its 1993 release, until it was eventually added to the Criterion Collection and released on DVD. “It is now available, and we are screening it, and I hope everyone – if you only see one film in the series – I hope you will come to King of the Hill, because it is an extraordinary and moving film.”
“The fourth film is An Education… it stars Carey Mulligan as a young woman who starts a relationship with an older man when she’s a senior in high school. She’s exposed to art, culture, and a life she’s aspiring to have when she leaves, but – as you can probably imagine – learns a lot of other life lessons as well that are not so pleasant. Carey Mulligan was nominated for the Oscar for that film, and it’s directed by a woman, Lone Scherfig.” Scherfig is an award-winning Danish director also known for her film Italian for Beginners. An Education (2009) is her most acclaimed film, and was adapted from Lynn Barber’s memoir of the same name by Nick Hornby, the author of the books Fever Pitch and High Fidelity.
“The fifth film is a very recent movie, My Old Ass, which stars Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella.” Readers in the same age bracket as I may be interested to know that Maddie Ziegler, of the reality TV show Dance Moms fame, also makes an appearance in this film. “It’s my favorite film of the last several years. I walked out of that movie thinking: this is your generation’s Harold and Maude. This is something that takes on big issues of family, friendship, love, death, and loyalty. Loyalty is such a common thread among these films.”
The 2024 film, directed by Megan Park, follows an 18-year-old Canadian girl who has an encounter with an older version of herself. Upon release, the film received a number of accolades, including earning Maisy Stella the Best Young Performer at the Critics’ Choice Awards and a nomination for a Gotham Award. Additionally, for those who take such things into consideration, the film holds a critics’ 90% fresh score on the review website Rotten Tomatoes.
“My hope is that readers of the Rambler, especially students at Transy, will come and see these films because I think that they will find themselves in these films. I think that watching the stories of Harold, and Joel, and Aaron, and Jenny, and Elliott, are all people that they will relate to, because they are all on a journey of self-discovery – as we all are, at all periods of our life, but especially when we’re in college.”
“I’m drawn to films that challenge my views of the world, and sometimes that can surprise me, and it can change me, and it can make me re-think. But, I also love films that are a mirror, that help me see that, ‘Ah! I’m like that!’ and it makes me feel less alone in the world, especially when I’m feeling unseen or marginalized in any way. Movies have always been a way to help me connect with my neighbors, and with the larger world, and that’s a way that art can heal us.”
The films will be presented every Tuesday, starting October 28th with Harold and Maude and continuing through November 25th, at 7:15 P.M., with an intro given by Tim Kirkman prior to each. Tickets available at www.kentuckytheatre.org or at the door. The trailer for the film series is available on YouTube, and keep up with Tim Kirkman on his Substack.
