Parents' Guide to Blue Moon

A one-set, one-night story of a tormented artist, Richard Linklater's fictional drama is smart, witty, exceptionally well-acted, and unafraid to ask tough questions about life, love, and art. Beautifully written by Robert Kaplow, whose novel was the basis for Linklater's Me and Orson Welles, Blue Moon is like a play written directly for the screen: It's based loosely on real people, but the situation is invented. Like most other Linklater films, it's deeply and wryly observant of human behavior on a small scale. It's hard not to be swept away by the glamour and the heartbreak of it all. Hawke's performance as Hart is a milestone in his career, a total immersion, with nary a crack in its surface. There's even some visual effects wizardry at work to make him appear five feet tall, and he apparently actually shaved his head, rather than wearing a bald cap. His voice and mannerisms are a complete transformation. And he captures Hart's pain, his acute awareness of his shortcomings and his reliance on wit and charm to survive.

The movie sparkles with its appreciation for the time and place it's set in, with appearances by artists like photographer Weegee, composer Stephen Sondheim, and future film director George Roy Hill. Eddie and Larry love to quote Casablanca—which at that time was probably still in theaters—to each other. (Cannavale is funny and lovable as Eddie.) And Larry inadvertently gives White an idea for his first children's book, Stuart Little. Blue Moon is almost like a Rodgers & Hart song in itself: catchy, bubbly, and then followed by a whiff of sadness.