**_Love is key to let down the mask and unite_** An alienated 17 years-old girl hiding behind piercings (Leelee Sobieski) applies for a job at a swank clothing store in a Los Angeles mall and starts an interesting relationship with the 49 years-old manager (Albert Brooks). But what’s the nature of their connection? The curiously titled "My First Mister" (2001) was Christine Lahti’s only directorial effort, as far as feature films go. It treads similar terrain as “Lawn Dogs” from four years earlier and does it better. Like that film, a few scenes come across a little awkward or unconvincing but, for the most part, it works and is more effective by comparison. The best of these types of movies, of course, is “Lost in Translation,” which came out two years later. Someone might balk that “Lost” takes a different direction and that’s obvious, but it doesn’t change the fact that these flicks tackle similar themes. They explore the nature of a profound connection between members of the opposite sex from different generations. Is it a spiritual connection in the sense of father/daughter or is it a romantic connection? If it’s the former, does that automatically omit any and all feelings of the latter? Needless to say, love is a powerful emotion and when a ‘love connection’ takes place, the participants have to be careful to channel such potent feelings in a positive direction. Otherwise, great destruction can occur. Be wise, my son; be careful, my daughter; and wonderful things can occur. As the proverb says, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” It runs 1 hour, 49 minutes, and was shot in the Los Angeles area, including Westfield Century City (mall), Venice and Santa Clarita. GRADE: B
