Son of Rambow (C or 2/4 stars)
The title of this film has very little to actually do with Rambo. That's either a very good or very bad thing, depending on your movie tastes {wink}. 'Son of Rambow' is a British dramedy written & directed by Garth Jennings. Set in 1980's suburbia, this film wants to say something about friendship, faith/religion, fitting in with the 'cool' crowd, & growing up. But it's struggles to. It's barely sweet, rarely funny. And the great ending won't make me leap from a C/2 star rating to a B/3 stars.
We first meet Will (Bill Milner), a young boy who's family belongs to the brethren faith (they can't watch TV or movies, etc.). This means he can resort only to reading books, or drawing. And draw he does. You see, Will has a fantastic imagination. And he sketches tons of mystical things, dragons, fairies, etc. His life will be changed though once he meets Carter (Will Pouter), a bullying kid who also happens to be bullied by his elder brother. Opposites attract, and these 2 become fast friends. Carter lets Will watch his very first movie, First Blood. Now obsessed with 'Rambow', he & Carter try to make their own Rambo flick (with his older brother's film equipment). Suddenly 'cool', their classmates now have an interest in them, including Didier (Jules Sitruk), a quirky French exchange student.
Now popular, Will & Carter allow their newfound pals to be in the film with them. Things are swell for a while. But once Will's mother (Jessica Stevenson) gets wind of what her son has been up to, the film takes a dire turn. A church intervention takes place. Will is miserable. He's angry that there is no father figure around. Meanwhile, Carter is having his own problems. He also lacks a father figure. And with tensions high, the 2 friends start taking out their anger on each other; possibly ruining the friendship for good. But everything turns on a dime by way of a great final scene in which their finalized 'Rambow' movie is shown in the local theater for all friends & family to see. Whether or not Will & Carter reconcile is a question I won't answer.
I wasn't too thrilled with Jenning's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and I'm not brimming with joy over this film, either. 'Son of Rambow' isn't bad. In fact, it's almost good. But by the end, I found it fairly disposable. It doesn't soar. It's riddled with 'outsider overcomes obstacles to be popular' cliches. It even has the 'ole 'blood brothers' cliche, as Will & Carter whip out a knife. The dream sequences (using animation) are cloying, and only served to undermine the reality that the plot was trying to achieve. It didn't provide ANY insight into these boy's realities; they're just there as a way of trying to be ... fun. And they're not.
Try as I might, I just couldn't be interested enough in what I was watching. Adding to the minor frustration, some of the British slang is hard to pick up on. The 2 newcomers to the screen are great, though. They're at complete ease both with each other and in front of a camera. The filming of the movie-within-the-movie provides the best parts of the film. The boy's playful innocence is much more enticing to watch than the overlapping drudgery of the family/religion segments.
We first meet Will (Bill Milner), a young boy who's family belongs to the brethren faith (they can't watch TV or movies, etc.). This means he can resort only to reading books, or drawing. And draw he does. You see, Will has a fantastic imagination. And he sketches tons of mystical things, dragons, fairies, etc. His life will be changed though once he meets Carter (Will Pouter), a bullying kid who also happens to be bullied by his elder brother. Opposites attract, and these 2 become fast friends. Carter lets Will watch his very first movie, First Blood. Now obsessed with 'Rambow', he & Carter try to make their own Rambo flick (with his older brother's film equipment). Suddenly 'cool', their classmates now have an interest in them, including Didier (Jules Sitruk), a quirky French exchange student.
Now popular, Will & Carter allow their newfound pals to be in the film with them. Things are swell for a while. But once Will's mother (Jessica Stevenson) gets wind of what her son has been up to, the film takes a dire turn. A church intervention takes place. Will is miserable. He's angry that there is no father figure around. Meanwhile, Carter is having his own problems. He also lacks a father figure. And with tensions high, the 2 friends start taking out their anger on each other; possibly ruining the friendship for good. But everything turns on a dime by way of a great final scene in which their finalized 'Rambow' movie is shown in the local theater for all friends & family to see. Whether or not Will & Carter reconcile is a question I won't answer.
I wasn't too thrilled with Jenning's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and I'm not brimming with joy over this film, either. 'Son of Rambow' isn't bad. In fact, it's almost good. But by the end, I found it fairly disposable. It doesn't soar. It's riddled with 'outsider overcomes obstacles to be popular' cliches. It even has the 'ole 'blood brothers' cliche, as Will & Carter whip out a knife. The dream sequences (using animation) are cloying, and only served to undermine the reality that the plot was trying to achieve. It didn't provide ANY insight into these boy's realities; they're just there as a way of trying to be ... fun. And they're not.
Try as I might, I just couldn't be interested enough in what I was watching. Adding to the minor frustration, some of the British slang is hard to pick up on. The 2 newcomers to the screen are great, though. They're at complete ease both with each other and in front of a camera. The filming of the movie-within-the-movie provides the best parts of the film. The boy's playful innocence is much more enticing to watch than the overlapping drudgery of the family/religion segments.