Francis Ford Coppola’s second feature, You’re a Big Boy Now, made its arrival on Blu-ray for the first time last year by way of the Warner Archive Collection.

Unfortunately for Coppola fans, You’re a Big Boy Now arrived on Blu-ray with just a single bonus feature—far from the wealth of extras typically found on releases of Coppola’s work. That’s especially disappointing given that this new 1080p HD master is sourced from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. The American Zoetrope restoration looks as good as one could hope for a film now more than 50 years old. You’d think this would be the perfect opportunity for a filmmaker commentary or retrospective featurette—but we don’t even get that!

This offbeat coming-of-age comedy follows nineteen-year-old Bernard Chanticleer (Peter Kastner), a naïve library assistant living in Great Neck with his overbearing mother, Margery (Geraldine Page), and domineering father, I.H. (Rip Torn), a curator at the New York Public Library. When his father decides it’s time for Bernard to grow up, he’s sent to live in a Manhattan boarding house run by the prudish Miss Nora Thing (Julie Harris), whose building is also home to a violent rooster. Bernard’s mother agrees—on the condition that Miss Thing report back on any suspicious female visitors.

In reality, Bernard is obsessed with women, especially the glamorous, emotionally damaged actress Barbara Darling (Elizabeth Hartman), whom he idolizes from afar. Childhood friend Amy Partlett (Karen Black) tries to connect with him, but Bernard’s infatuation with Barbara derails any chance of a genuine romance. A disastrous series of encounters leaves Bernard humiliated, homeless, and entangled in a web of misunderstandings, including an attack by the rooster, a false accusation of seduction against his father, and a confused, failed attempt at seduction with Barbara. His brief move-in with Barbara only ends in more emotional chaos and rejection.

Things spiral into full-blown farce in You’re a Big Boy Now when Bernard, desperate and disillusioned, steals a Gutenberg Bible from the library and leads police on a manic chase through New York. Barbara, eager for attention, knocks him out and becomes a tabloid hero for thwarting a “rare book thief.” Bernard winds up in jail, Barbara dumps Raef del Grado (Tony Bill), and only Amy stands by him. In the end, Bernard begins to shed his childish fantasies and walks away into the city with the one person who truly understands him.

What can I say? The film itself—produced over budget for close to $1 million—is not all that memorable, though actress Geraldine Page received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. You can clearly sense that Coppola has a solid grasp of what he’s doing behind the camera in You’re a Big Boy Now, but it’s unmistakably a product of the 1960s. Even though it was his second feature film, it also served as his master’s thesis project at UCLA Film School. Coppola based his script on the novel by David Benedictus.

The best part of watching You’re a Big Boy Now is undoubtedly its soundtrack. The songs were composed by John B. Sebastian and performed by The Lovin’ Spoonful. I’ve had their greatest hits album for years, so I was already familiar with the titular tune, “Darling Be Home Soon,” and “Lonely (Amy’s Theme).” The music really shines in the audio mix—especially when competing with the hum of an air conditioner.

You’re a Big Boy Now might draw some curiosity for being one of Coppola’s earliest features, but there’s really not much to see here. You’re better off just watching The Graduate again—it handles similar themes far more effectively and boasts an equally great, if not better, soundtrack.

Bonus Feature

• Theatrical Trailer

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Francis Ford Coppola
CAST: Elizabeth Hartman, Geraldine Page, Peter Kastner, Rip Torn, Michael Dunn, Tony Bill, and Julie Harris, introducing Karen Black, with Dolph Sweet, Michael O’Sullivan, Ron Colby, Rufus Harley, Frank Simpson, Nina Varella, Len De Carl

Warner Bros. Pictures released You’re a Big Boy Now in theaters on December 9, 1966. Grade: 2.5/5

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