WATCH IT

The title of Tom Flynn's first feature refers to a series of pranks and retribution played by a quartet of young Chicago men, a devious game of tricky one upmanship that overlaps their personal lives. Michael can't be faithful to one lover, even as he proposes marriage to his loyal steady Anne. It's Michael's cousin, John, unwillingly drawn into the Watch It circle, who really wants Anne but won't commit. Rick, grand master of Watch It, declares that women are attracted to irresponsible creeps and sets out to prove it by being one himself. One by one they learn that growing up is the biggest practical joke life can play, in an affecting and exuberant little gem of a comedy drama, heralding a fresh gallery of talent before and behind the cameras. And Chicago has seldom looked better. C. C.