That Was Then... This Is Now (1985)

In THAT WAS THEN…THIS IS NOW, Emilio Estevez stars as Mark Jennings, a delinquent teenager who becomes overly jealous when his brother-like figure and best friend, Byron (Sheffer), gets a girlfriend (Delaney) and tries to abandon his old, bad boy ways. Already feeling alienated after being orphaned when his father killed his mother during a violently heated argument, Mark becomes jealous of Brian’s new relationship and gets himself involved with drugs as a result. When Mark and Brian’s mentor, Charlie Woods (Freeman), is killed, and when Byron’s girlfriend’s little brother is reported missing with Mark seeming to have more clues to his whereabouts than anyone else, their world changes even more as the boys’ friendship is put to the ultimate test.

 Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez is one of my favorite actors and he did a great job in that was then this is now! April 1, 2008

 Terrible, Just Terrible
I purchased this DVD to show to my ninth grade students who just finished reading the book, which they loved. Not only did I think the movie was a terrible adaptation of the book, so did my students. The movie doesn't follow the plot of the book, the acting is pretty bad, the soundtrack is even worse, and the language is reprehensible - completely unacceptable for a school setting. This type of language wasn't even used in the novel. Why add it to the movie?
Save your money. Don't buy this. March 6, 2008

 bad acting
we all can agree that Emlio can be a good actor. but in this movie version of a great book, he flunks! a story line with bad acting. i do not recomend you see the movie. just read the book and you will be happy with that. but just bad acting for a well known actor! November 27, 2007

 Action and hold your attention film.
This film works perfectly and it is one that you must watch because if you turn away you would miss a vital part. June 12, 2007

 wow
Not a bad movie, from from back in the 80's. (It's an adult film, not for children). Now we know what is wrong with society. If the movie follows the book except for cussing (never read the book)? Then we are letting children read about pre marital sex, car stealing, drug use, and gang violence. This is an "R" rated movie, I would hope that any teacher of children could read a rating and would have the sense not to show it to a class of underage children. May 1, 2006

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