klc-256-212690

This film surprises in many ways.

I hadn't paid attention to the cast and only discovered afterwards that it stars mark Wahlberg. This was the first sucker-punch, because I was absolutely wowed by the performance and hadn't realized just how good Wahlberg can be until I saw this. Completely taken by surprise!

Second surprise is when we finally get to see the father (Wahlberg) talking about and against bullying. Used to over-the-top Hollywood treatments of such things, it was entirely unexpected to realize that this man is not a good speaker at all. It fits the character, however, and for once we have to give the character points for trying as opposed to being greatly affected by the speeches given. But this is not really surprising in context, as the film is not so much about bullying as it is with coming to terms with your own prejudices.

Third surprise is the acting chops of Reid Miller. Not an easy role to play, but he is entirely believable and very touching.

Overall, the film is somewhat uneven, with flashbacks which somehow upset the flow and confuse as much as elucidate. But this is a minor problem because the acting and the situations are gripping enough for the drawbacks to be forgiven.

Definitely worth your time. I would have added an extra half-star, but couldn't seem to get the system to cooperate!

This film aims low and goes lower.

I haven't heard such jejune phony macho dialogue since I left junior high - but I suppose that is who this film is aimed at. Why else would it get a 7+ rating? After 20 minutes of stilted, cliché-ridden dialogue, I just turned it off and looked for another film.

My low score is very simple to explain. First, even though the story is not particularly new, it is the handling of it which misses the mark. The dialogue is too often predictable when it isn't clichéd. The husband and wife have no real chemistry, and the acting level was "adequate", but although not everyone did a bad job of it, the correct adjective would be "uneven". Sometimes it was rather embarrassingly amateurish - as in the interview with the agent just isn't to be believed for a moment; he overacts to a fault. Finally, from a visual standpoint, it was serviceable, but no real style or punch to it. In the end, I stopped watching from perhaps a third of the way through, because I had no reason to expect any of it to improve.