Entertainment

The First Time

‘sex is so much better before you’ve had it,” complains a character in this inoffensive but bland ode to the talky high school movies of John Hughes and Cameron Crowe. Dave (Dylan O’Brien) is a cute, awkward guy who’s prepping to make a play for his hot platonic friend Jane (Victoria Justice); he meets artsy alterna-girl Aubrey (Britt Robertson) outside a party, and they find they’ve got more in common than either has with their ostensible love interest — including mutual virginity.

Over a couple of days in “The First Time,” Dave and Aubrey flirt their way toward the bedroom while dealing with her awful older boyfriend Ronny (James Frecheville) and the commentary of Dave’s friends (Lamarcus Tinker and Craig Roberts — the wry British star of 2010’s “Submarine,” who steals every scene he’s in).

The couple’s banter feels like writer/director Jon Kasdan’s 30-something fantasy of how teens talk. Aubrey, who prefers her Leonard Cohen on vinyl, sums it up: “Everything cool’s been ruined,” she sighs. That may be, but the manic pixie dream girl is clearly still alive and well.