Son of Rambow (2007)

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

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

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I was disappointed with Son of Rambow. I expected better. It's like the film Millions, but without the compelling story and emotional impact. However, it has some fun parts and it reminds me of the days when I made movies with my friends. Good times.

Son of Rambow is an incredible film. It is so fresh and full of energy. It is about a boy, Will Proudfoot, from a strict Plymouth Brethren family getting to know a young rebel, Lee Carter, from his school and being suddenly introduced to things he has no knowledge of. The boys friendship creates problems for Will with his family and church.What the film does very well is getting the viewer to understand the mindset of the two boys; we see things through their eyes. This is made possible by the two young actors who play Will and Lee. They are exceptionally good and make the characters completely believable and sympathetic. The actor of Lee, Will Poulta is particularly impressive. Because we are seeing events through their eyes events and situations are often exaggerated yet still appear natural.The film has a lot to say about friendship and family but perception and reputation are also major themes (how perceptions differ and reputations form). There is a subplot with a french exchange student which I thought was very apt.It is touching, uplifting and has many very funny moments.

Son of Rambow is made by a director of mostly music videos, and one previous feature, the underwhelming adaptation of Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Here he displays a personal touch that was mostly absent from the previous film. It's a tale of childhood, and two outsider kids, one a religiously-indoctrinated shut-in with a wild imagination as as a drawer, and the other without parental guidance and a penchant for shoplifting and bootlegging copies of First Blood. They meet somewhat unlikely in a hallway and Will and Carter (Bill Milner and Will Poulter respectively, both excellent child actors) grow close upon the bootleg of First Blood, which Carter wants to recreate for a young- person film festival. In a small way I was reminded of the documentary American Movie, which saw a group of ragtag filmmakers in a small town in Minnesota coming together (or rather being led by one eccentric one, though most 'normal' of the bunch) to make a short film. It was rough and crude ultimately, but it got finished and released. By the end of Son of Rambow, we know the film will be released and seen, though what the reaction will be is in question. While Jennings can lay on the sap in the third act, it turns out to be earned by the warm humor and sometimes weird BIG laughs in the mid-section with a French boy with a Flock of Seagulls look. When it comes to filming First Blood, and including with it a 'son' looking for Rambo along with a flying yellow dog (created by Will), it's hard not to get joyously silly.But what also makes the sap earned is that it's a serious dramatic movie at heart as well. Jennings doesn't take for granted the "Bretheren" that Will is apart of, or rather his mother is apart of after his father's sudden death by aneurysm, and how this impacts the relationship between Will and Carter (Will technically can't watch any movies much less Rambo, and certainly can't be friends with mischievous Carter, who is a little punk who is lonely at heart). We're drawn in to the characters, and the high emotions of childhood, and what is unlikely will most likely happen; I've had friends like Carter, I know this group of wild kids, even if it's not the same circumstances or same country. The relatability to things here is uncanny, and it's what is most striking after being a sometimes amazingly funny comedy of makin-movies errors. It even leans into the quirky, but not too much so. It's a winning little movie, unassuming and heartfelt genuinely, and includes some cool 80's music to go with its 80's style and Rambo.

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!