Baby It's You Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Baby It's You Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf May 4, 2025

It’s a tale of attraction and realization in 1983’s “Baby It’s You,” which is collected from the memories of co-producer Amy Robinson and brought to the screen by writer/director John Sayles. It’s a period piece, taking viewers back to the mid-1960s, following two characters as they deal with ideas of love and realities of life, trying to understand the impossible as these teenagers mature into young adults. Sayles pumps the picture full of music and does an excellent job capturing a time and place, but he’s not making a sentimental feature in “Baby It’s You.” There’s no gooey center to this understanding of deep feelings, and dramatic power is curiously missing from the offering, which lands some adolescent blues, but comes up a little short when trying to realize arcs of awareness facing the main characters.

In New Jersey, Jill (Rosanna Arquette) is a high school student enjoying her senior year, preparing for a potential future at college. She has friends and commits to pursuing acting, but her life is disrupted when she meets Sheik (Vincent Spano), a classmate. A dapper young man who’s devoted to the life and times of Frank Sinatra, Sheik is committed to pursuing Jill, looking to woo her with hopes to have a sexual experience. Jill isn’t sure about the relationship, but she can’t resist Sheik, with the pair trying to make sense of their union as time passes, putting them on two different paths as graduation arrives.

While they attend school together, Sheik is a stranger to Jill when they first meet. He’s an odd guy, maintaining a classy look as he wears suits and slicks back his hair, and he’s focused on attraction, marking Jill as someone to be conquered. Sayles fills out a few details on these lives, as Jill wants to be an actress, coming from a supportive network of family and friends. Sheik lives with a verbally abusive father and doesn’t pal around much, which only increases his allure to Jill. “Baby It’s You” doesn’t deal in meet cutes, preferring a harsher feel for the central relationship, as Sheik basically ignores Jill on their first date, and he’s quick to pressure her into sex, eventually finding another girl who’s willing when his girlfriend isn’t.

“Baby It’s You” isn’t sweet and gentle. Sayles attempts to generate a reality to this first love scenario, which doesn’t always come across with the profundity he intends. The helmer is focused on details of life during the era, working with a small budget to create a feel for the 1960s in New Jersey, including period tunes and classics from Sinatra, turning “Strangers in the Night” into a pained reminder of what could’ve been. There’s also songs from Bruce Springsteen inserted into the feature, which do more to break the mood of “Baby It’s You” than support it, adding some ‘70s rock to a movie that doesn’t need it. It’s a strange creative choice.

Sayles finds some solid ground in Jill’s odyssey, following the teenager as she enters college, confronted by a new set of expectations and freedoms. The character’s growth and experiences are the most compelling aspects of “Baby It’s You,” watching Jill come alive at college, handling a disruption of her acting ambitions while meeting new men, creating a different future for herself. Sayles plays with the small tragedies and humiliations, getting a little too extreme with Sheik’s behavior, failing to follow up on a few of his choices as desperation becomes his routine. There’s something interesting in the slow dismantling of the character’s confidence, but it doesn’t emerge in “Baby It’s You,” broken up into fragments of drastic behavior that require a deeper inspection.

Baby It's You Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "Baby It's You" is listed as "remastered from a new 4K scan of its original camera negative." It's a slightly softer look for the feature, but detail is accessible, exploring period costuming as it goes from formal to casual, and skin particulars are decent. Decorative additions are open for inspection, and exteriors, while limited, are deep. Color is secure, examining a cooler palette with moments of candied hues, reflecting teen fashion and high school activity. Restaurant and bar experiences offer hotter reds, and skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is retained, with some stretches of slight chunkiness. Source is in good condition.

Baby It's You Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix offers some signs of age, but remains acceptable. Dialogue exchanges are decently defined, preserving emotionality as the characters go through fits of anger and concern. The soundtrack is the big selling point of "Baby It's You," and songs are satisfactorily represented, lacking power at times, but instrumentation is appreciable and vocals are clear. Atmospherics with crowd activity register as intended.

Baby It's You Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features writer Bill Ackerman.

• "This is Very Familiar to Me" (33:02, HD) is an interview with writer/director John Sayles, who was in the middle of building his directorial career when he became involved in "Baby It's You," eager to reach the "big time" of industry opportunity. The interviewee identifies his understanding of producer Amy Robinson's story, responding to her personal experiences, allowing him to generate a script with some ease. Elements of the time period are recalled, getting into the details of the age and character, following Sayle's own life. Casting is celebrated, looking for younger actors to portray high school characters. Technical achievements are noted, highlighting cinematographer Michael Ballhaus's work, and soundtrack offerings are analyzed. The interviewee also goes into the editing process on "Baby It's You," ending up with a picture that disappointed the distributor.

• "From Triple to Double Play" (29:57, HD) is a dual interview with producers Amy Robinson and Griffin Dunne, who recount their initial introduction, joined by Mark Metcalfe, joining forces to create Triple Play Productions, which eventually became Double Play Productions. Robinson provided the inspiration for "Baby It's You," sharing her life story with writer/director John Sayles, who fully responded to the idea. Pieces of Robinson's life are identified, exploring her New Jersey upbringing, which was transformed into a viable screenplay by Sayles. Casting is analyzed, finding near-misses with Tom Cruise and Matt Dillon leading to Vincent Spano, while Rosanna Arquette was brought on due to her screen presence. Technical achievements are noted, offering particular interest in cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. Locations are explored and music is identified, bringing Bruce Springsteen into the project, which led to future issues with music rights. The interviewees cover editorial issues and release woes, as "Baby It's You" failed to find an audience.

• "A Little Magic" (9:55, HD) is an interview with actress Rosanna Arquette, who previously worked alongside Griffin Dunne, learning more about the push to make "Baby It's You" a reality, responding to the special character. Arquette shares her memories of the production team and shooting locations, also happy to find chemistry with co-star Vincent Spano. The interviewee reflects on the release of the picture as well, which was overshadowed by "Flashdance."

• "Like a Glove" (19:49, HD) is an interview with actor Vincent Spano, who enjoyed career momentum in the early 1980s, making his way from "The Black Stallion Returns" to "Baby It's You" via an audition for "The Outsiders." The interviewee goes deep into characterization, delighted to play the layers of Shiek. He also shares his joy while working with writer/director John Sayles and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. Noting the "family feel" of the production, Spano is proud of the offering and electrified by the professional opportunities of the time, thrilled to have the movie available on Blu-ray.

• "I Was in the Right Profession" (8:04, HD) is an interview with actor Matthew Modine, who was an acting student in the early 1980s, sharing his audition story for "Baby It's You," trying out for a film he had no previous knowledge of. The interviewee notes how his role was expanded during the shoot, tasked with handling a fresh monologue at the last minute. Modine also offers his thoughts on writer/director John Sayles, responding to his intimate way of working, grateful for the professional opportunity.

• Image Gallery (7:19) collects poster art, publicity shots, film stills, and BTS snaps.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:48, HD) is included.

Baby It's You Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Baby It's You" is cold, as one isn't expected to root for Jill and Sheik, who, in reality, shouldn't be a couple. Sayles is a marvelous filmmaker, but this movie is far from his strongest work, as he battles to maintain control over subplots (a suicide attempt from a supporting character comes out of nowhere) and the general passing of time, making the feature feel a little aimless in its second half. Personal connection to these people is certainly possible (quality performances from Arquette and Spano is also open for debate), but an overall sense of urgency is hard to come by, and it's a little difficult to understand what keeps the main characters together, finding Sayles developing the idea of obsession, but he struggles to sell such a primal union.