Son of Rambow (2007)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Grange Hill meets Lord of the Flies in an unlikely tale of two boys from contrasting backgrounds who decide to make a video as an entry into a kids' TV film-making competition.The bizarre plot has little (if anything) original to say about the story's main themes of tween friendship and dysfunctional parenting. The narrative is poorly constructed and implausible. The mawkish sentimentality of the denouement ranks alongside the most stomach-churning that Disney has ever had the poor taste to dream up.But the performances of the two young leads makes the whole thing forgivable. I loved it and recommend it wholeheartedly.

Will Proudfoot and Lee Carter may attend to same school but they are very different; Will is a member of the Plymouth Brethren who isn't even allowed to watch television and Lee is the school hooligan. One day while Will is sitting in the corridor while the rest of his class watch a documentary Lee is thrown out of his class and gets into an altercation with Will. They are sent to see the headmistress and Lee offers to take all the blame (and torture!) if Will agrees to be the stuntman in the film he is making. And so begins their friendship. While at Lee's house he sees a pirated copy of 'First Blood' and his mind is well and truly blown. He comes up with the idea of making the film 'Son of Rambo(w) and soon he and Lee are getting in more scrapes as they get filming. Meanwhile a group of French students visit their school and one of them, Didier, is rather popular. When he reads Will's script he wants to be in the film; soon Will is suddenly popular but his friendship with Lee is in jeopardy.This film was an utter delight; the two young leads, Bill Milner and Will Poulter, were great as Will and Lee. The characters are likable which is a bit of a surprised as Lee starts off as a bully. The story is pretty simple but that is the charm of it. There are plenty of laughs to be had but there are also some poignant moments. Having been a teenager in the eighties there was a degree of nostalgia but it certainly isn't necessary to have been around then to enjoy this; I'm sure today's youngsters would enjoy it too! Likewise while it will probably be more fun if you've seen 'First Blood' it isn't essential… which is good as that film really isn't suitable for younger viewers who would enjoy this. Overall I'd say this is a fin film that can be enjoyed by older children (there is some swearing which parents might not want younger children hearing) and adults alike.

Despite the brief images of violence, a couple of children smoking, and some children using profanity, "Son of Rambow", written and directed by music-video-director-turned-movie- director Garth Jennings, of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a funny, sweet and rather peculiar family fantasy for the filmmaker in you. Set in 1980's England when the first Rambo flick, "First Blood" became big in theaters, the movie follows bully Lee Carter (Will Poulter) and artistic Plymouth Brethren Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner). These two are not good friends to begin with, but Lee uses Will to be a part of his new movie he's making inspired by "First Blood" (Actually, it's Will's idea, after seeing the movie) for his participation on the vintage BBC show "Screen Test". Turns out, everyone wants to be a part of the movie, including French New- Wave kid, Didier (Jules Sitruk) and even Lee's brother, Lawrence (Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick). While the film is in progress and their friendship is being tested, they realize that the near-fatal consequences wouldn't keep them apart from their friendship. This is a rather amazing film that really got me interested with a talented young and old cast. Poulter and Milner creates a realistic and fun chemistry as the two friends. Other supporting players including Jessica Stevenson as Will's mother, Asa Butterfield from "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" as a Plymouth Brethren child and scenes involving Sylvester Stallone in "First Blood". I hope this film will entertain the entire family and I bless Jennings for inspiring himself to make a film about the kid in all of us. This is an enjoyable film.

This film took me totally by surprise, especially since it got very little notice when it was released in theatres. It deserves a place next to such classic "coming-of-age" movies as MY LIFE AS A DOG and HOPE AND GLORY. It tells the story of two lonely boys, Will (Bill Milner) and Lee Carter (Will Poulter). Will's family are part of a strict religious sect which prohibits such forms of entertainment as TV, movies and music. Will makes up for this by creating stories of his own in the form of elaborate drawings he records in his notebook. When he meets up with the school bully, Lee Carter (Will Poulter), a creepy little thug (even his eyebrows are scary) with a penchant for stealing, the cleverness of the drawings inspires Lee to make an action film using the camera he pilfered from his brother. The result is the epic "Son of Rambow," featuring every cliché from every overblown Hollywood action movie of the '80s (and then some--none of the RAMBO films ever included a flying dog!) Their project gets more complicated when the boys' classmates decide to enlist the help of a flamboyant, charismatic French exchange student in the making of the film to add "star power." Things get even more out of hand when Will's religious community discover his activities and try to prevent him from continuing.This is a film for anyone who loves childhood reminiscence movies, and also for anyone who just loves movies. The film manages to tell a sweet story about children and the friendship between two boys without ever becoming syrupy or cloying. At the same time, it pokes affectionate fun at movies, film-making, and movie clichés without a trace of meanness. It's fun to see how well-versed the boys are in the standard plots, language, and clichés of action films. And, on the subject of hackneyed movie plots,a staple of many TV-movie bios is the scene in which the successful celebrity becomes carried away by the glamorous world of show-biz glitz and partying, and shuns his more down-to-earth pal, but later learns the error of his ways. That plot twist is included here, but it's done in a fresh, funny, yet still poignant way.What this film lacks is the cheap, vulgar shock humor of most of the supposed "adult" comedies popular in recent years. Yet it manages to be funnier than most of today's comedies, and adults will enjoy it. Older kids will, too, and they may even be inspired to make their own films as a result of seeing it. Don't miss it!