De Niro ... DiCaprio ... Dushku?: "This Boy's Life"

Not cool. That girl who was so hot in "Jay and Silent Bob," "Bring It On" and even "Wrong Turn" -- you may know her as Eliza Dushku -- plays a geeky stepsister here. Not cool.

Otherwise, decent movie, but with some flaws.

I could be wrong on this, but "This Boy's Life" probably is known for helping the future King of the World capture the eye of various Hollywood executives. It sure as hell didn't capture a big audience with the general public, since I can't remember people on the street raving about the movie when it came out. Then again, I was in college, and aside from "Pulp Fiction" and "Clerks," I'm not sure any movies came out those four years.

(Sidebar: It's a near-certainty that "Clerks II" will bite, but I can't help laughing at the end of the trailer where Jay starts dancing to the Buffalo Bill music from "The Silence of the Lambs." Hey, I'd f*ck me ... )

Anyway, our story has DiCaprio as the teen son of Ellen "I was in demand in the late '80s and early '90s, baby!" Barkin, who apparently had poor taste in men and careers. We open with them rolling to Utah -- great shots of Monument Valley -- but before long we're in Seattle, where Barkin starts dating and eventually marries De Niro's character, a seemingly polite but actually hardassed blue-collar type who lives in a small town not far away. That leads to a test of wills between the once and future thespians, with battles both verbal and physical.

To this point, Leo was mostly known as a "Growing Pains" add-on -- when young Ben Seaver became too old and awkward -- and his only film roles were as Josh in "Critters 3" and Guy in "Poison Ivy." Now I've seen "Poison Ivy," and I have no idea if he played a guy, someone named Guy or someone named "Gee." You know, with a hard "g," like the French say it. My point is this: "Boy's Life" was Leo's coming-out, and between this and "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" -- ask my friend "Greg" about that one -- DiCaprio was a Young Actor to Watch. Four years later, he's dodging icebergs and Billy Zane. Well played.

But how good is he here? Pretty good, I guess. There definitely are scenes in which he seems poised and talented beyond his years -- 18 when "Boy's Life" was made. I bought both his tortured youth thing and the smart-assed bits. The voiceovers, though, were a little much, as was some of the more questionable relationships with other characters, such as the gay kid who he doesn't get intimate with. Hard to believe any high schooler is that enlightened, especially in a small town and with such a dysfunctional home life.

But DiCaprio is better than De Niro, although I'm probably not being fair because I'm judging Bobby D. based on his work since then. Not the good stuff, but the caricature he's become. I suppose had I seen this back in 1993 I would have been more impressed with De Niro and his juggling the polite courtship of Barkin with the rougher marriage. But I mostly thought his character was two-dimensional and kind of hard to believe -- surprising considering this is a true story. I guess he just seemed too fake with his personalities -- the fake one for the ladies and the real one for the family. It's hard to explain, but let's just say he's done better work.

Still, not a bad movie, if 20 minutes too long and with some slow spots. You can make a case that there's a little passing of the torch here, but it's not like De Niro totally screwed the pooch after '93 -- "Casino," "Heat" and "Wag the Dog" come to mind as decent -- nor has DiCaprio been universally good. (Um, "The Beach?") Regardless, having a good young actor with a proven pro is usually worthwhile. Sure, De Niro's no Alan Thicke, but he's not bad ...