Tuck Everlasting

Have tissues at the ready for this enjoyably soppy fable. Based on a novel by Natalie Babbitt, it is the story of young Winnie (Bledel), who in 1914 discovers a family living hidden in the forest called the Tucks. Jesse Tuck (Jackson) in particular is rather appealing, but she soon learns the family’s secret – they have all drunk from a magical spring that is, in fact, the fountain of youth, and each is stuck at the age they were when they drank. So Jesse may look like a hunky teenager, but in fact he’s over 100 years old. Winnie, who is afraid of dying (and a bit in love already), is unsurprisingly intrigued, but is she prepared to live for ever to be with Jesse, or lose him by living to a normal age?
While cynical viewers will notice a few big plot annoyances (like why the family has stayed in the same woodland home for eons when they could be making use of their agelessness by travelling the world, and why doesn’t Jesse look a bit more frustrated, 104-year-old virgin that he is?), those wanting an old-fashioned romantic fable (yes, this is one for preteen and teenage girls) will have more than a few sniffs during this innocent tale.