5-25-77

A heady mix of '70s nostalgia, movie geekery and coming-of-age drama, this delightful tale chronicles one filmmaker's journey from backyard auteur to Hollywood.

Like many, I’m very interested in the forthcoming “The Fabelmans” because it’s Steven Spielberg’s first overtly autobiographical film, looking at his rise from a backyard auteur shooting schlocky serials on Super 8 mm to directorial titan. Hollywood loves to make movies about itself, and it’s no coincidence that these are often some of their most inspired works.

While I’m waiting for that, I reveled in a similarly themed picture of a much lower profile, “5-25-77.” It’s written and directed by Patrick Read Johnson, a filmmaker of some repute (“Angus,” “Dragonheart”), and looks at his teen years as a sci-fi geek outcast dreaming of making feature films.

It’s a heady and delightful mix of ‘70s nostalgia, coming-of-age-story and teen comedy. It’s shot in a deliberately schlocky style to reflect the no-budget methods of a youngster whose entire life is consumed by watching, thinking about and making movies.

If you’re any kind of film nerd worth their salt, you recognize the date from the title: the release of the first “Star Wars” film, which not only forever changed the movie industry but also was the beginning of a massive societal realignment where geek culture is now dominant.

“5-25-77” is available on VOD platforms everywhere today following a brief theatrical run.

Actually, as the opening of the film makes clear, another date is in many ways more critical in the development of young Pat Johnson’s obsession: 4-2-68. That’s when, at the age of 6, Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” came out, and Pat was completely ensorceled by the weird, wonderful mystery of the black monolith and “space baby.” Soon after being gifted an old Super 8 mm camera by his dad, he began filming literally everything.

The family pool, his sister’s horse, the other kids’ bikes — everything Pat can get his hands on winds up becoming fodder for his movies. Most of his early efforts are reductionist, unauthorized and un-asked-for sequels to “Jaws,” “Duel,” “Planet of the Apes” and so on.

As played by John Francis Daley, Pat is a dweeb and a dreamer, the sort of kid who reads cinematography magazines and is seemingly the last virgin in the senior class. As is the tradition in Hollywood movies, the teens are played by actors much older — in Daley’s case, 37, though he’s actually a pretty believable 17.

(Editor’s note: I’ve received an update from Johnson himself revealing that the bulk of the movie was actually shot in 2004, so Daley was a near spot-on 20. Also adds interesting context to the film, putting it on a level with Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” for intrepid persistence.)

His best friends are Bill Holmes (Steve Coulter), the class president and resident cut-up, and Robin Braden (Katie Jeep), the wiseacre girl who knows what she wants. As the story opens, Bill and Robin have recently broken up from a relationship, and now she and Pat are casting moony eyes at each other. But she quickly shuts it down, understanding that Pat is one day soon going leave northeastern Illinois for Tinseltown.

Colleen Camp plays his mother, who’s a talkative fussbudget and constantly hollers at Pat for destroying her household piece by piece. But she also believes in him 100%, and encourages Pat to stay true to his dreams.

Later, Pat will find unexpected romance with Linda (Emmi Chen), a Japanese-American girl whom he falls for because he spies her reading Arthur Clarke’s novel of “2001.” It turns out she’s not as much of a purist as he, but Linda seems to like Pat for who he is rather than what he should be or could be.

If I can pinpoint a reason why “5-25-77” works so well, it’s the very specific, naturalistic performances from the lead cast. Everyone seems very much themselves and in the moment. Jeep and Coulter in particular are faces I’ve not seen before, and very much would like to see more after watching their charismatic work here.

Pat does eventually make it to Hollywood, but just for a brief sojourn as a starry-eyed fan hoping to make some connections. He gets a helping hand from Herb Lightman (Austin Pendleton), the editor of American Cinematographer magazine and a famed DP himself.

This leads to an impromptu tour of some special effects lots where addled guys a lot like Pat create magic right before his eyes. He bumps into a whizkid shooting some weather scenes for a forthcoming movie, whose manner and name soon become familiar. Really, though, his biggest goal is to meet Douglas Trumball, the special effects master on “2001” who went on to direct “Silent Running.”

He also gets to see a rough cut of “Star Wars,” and immediately knows it’s going to change his life. When he finally gets back home, Pat goes on a quest to get all his friends and classmates as excited as he is about it, seeing at his chance to finally connect with others and not be the outcast.

“5-25-77” sings with the authentic voice of places and times lived and remembered, with both fondness and pain. It’s a great-looking film full of period costumes and vehicles, including Pat’s fire-red Ford Pinto that (accurately) spends most of its time in the shop. Or Bill’s dad’s repair shop/bodega, “Bud’s and Sons.” And the kids from Wadsworth having to drive into Waukeegan to catch movies at the Genesee Theater.

The movie’s a little overlong and could have used some judicious editing here and there, a common complaint I seem to have about movies these days. Still, if the story tarries a bit from time to time, it has the feeling of hanging out with your acerbic best friends, cracking on each other to hide fears about what’s to come next in life.

Bill in particular seems more centered than most high school seniors, a guy who knows his place in the world and is content to occupy it fully. Certainly, he has Pat pegged: “To everybody else, movies are something you do when you’re tired of real life. To you, real life is something you do when you’re tired of watching movies.”

Of course, people like Pat never really get tired of watching movies. Discovering wonderful little gems like “5-25-77” is one big reason why I don’t.