The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

teenage angst. who hasn't faced this horror themselves? this movie was well written. cant really think of a movie it copied, but the teenage friendship, teenage love and family resentment shine brightly. Shia, who reminds me of the kid from the TV show Boy Meets World does a great job showing how imagination can make you strive forth. you can see the way he lusts after Tabby, played by the beautiful Amy Smart. but in the same way Kelly wants Tabby, the checkout girl Sarah played by Shiri Appleby wants Kelly. This movie is wonderful, makes you laugh at many options. The way the characters mesh with each other also shines. whoever picked this cast, did a wonderful job. Anymovie that has a well rounded cast and that. This movie definitely makes you remember your teenage years. It also makes you want to stand up to an authority figure now and let them know they don't know everything. one great movie perfect for anyones collection!

The problem with "Project Greenlight" is that it seems like they promote the show more then the movie, and therefore the movie being made takes second in priority. I'm willing to bet that the original "Battle.." screenplay was excellent, and you can see the potential, but they need to have an experienced director, not a newbie. I know they want to give aspiring directors their first break, but somehow it doesn't work... mostly because they walk on to a the set and go "Now what?" because they've never, ever worked on a movie set, unlike most directors whove put in their share of time as a set- grunt, running coffee, helping with equipment, basically getting their feet wet. I think "Battle..." would have been great in the hands of a good director, its too bad for the screenwriter, I hope she gets more work based on the merits of the original screenplay and not ignored because of the movie. I think Amy Smart was wasted (which is terrible, she is so amazing), the storyline had NO flow, there was absolutely ZERO character development. I mean, in the end Shia's character ends up with his "friend" who we barely ever see, as if there was this tentative relationship the whole time... I don't know , this was like a cake with no sugar in it, there was some substance but so much was missing...

"The Battle of Shaker Heights" focuses on a pedantic high school dweeb (LaBeouf) and his involvements with WWII reenactments, a payback prank on a bully, and, most of all, his affections for two girls. An unfortunate little coming-of-ageish flick, "Battle" is lacking in depth, homogeneity, continuity, and the breadth of things we like to see in stories, characters, and screenplays. Unoriginal, unimaginative, off target, and with too much invested in a rather annoying central character, "Battle" isn't all bad and does manage some warmth, personality, and charm though it's largely overshadowed by its many deficits. Passable stuff which will likely play best with teens. (C)

Considering the small amount of time for filming, the lack of money ( one million dollar's movie) almost no publicity, and the unfair reviews of some critics, I was really surprise of how well the movie played. I think it had a lot to do with how perfect Shia Labeouf was for the part, he was just so good. If you give it a chance in a Sunday afternoon you will not be displeased.