Perfectly cast as the object of a hormonally charged crush, Keri Russell is the object of the ultimate girl-next-door fantasy in this independent feature by first-time writer-director Michael Davis. A likable mixture of puerile humor and tenderheartedness, it tells the story of teenage boy who lives on a girl's front lawn all summer long in hopes that she'll fall in love him. Nerdy Peter (Josh Schaefer) is infatuated with Erica (Keri Russell), the beauty who lives across the street. After graduation from high school, Peter realizes that Erica will be going away to college and out of his life forever at summer's end. Peter's grandfather, Nonno (Buck Kartalian), tells him the tale of an Italian ancestor who stood beneath his true love's balcony day and night to prove his devotion, and Peter decides to win Erica's heart by doing the same. Erica has no interest in Peter — she already has a boyfriend, obnoxiously macho jock Nick (Johnny Green), but Peter still Peter waits. As the weeks pass, he observes the eccentric behavior of his neighbors, including sexy divorcee Ms. Lewis (Catherine Hicks), who's so taken with Peter's devotion to romance that she tries to seduce him. August arrives before Erica will even talk to Peter, and a friendship develops. Though shot in 1996 and well received on the festival circuit, EIGHT DAYS A WEEK didn't receive a commercial release until Keri Russell became famous as the star of TV's Felicity. Despite its raunchy (and often surprisingly funny) gags about masturbation, urination and other such topics, the film's overall tone is one of wistful sincerity that taps into an adult's longing for the time when a youthful infatuation could be the entire world. --Phil Riley
