Ace the Case

It's a bad movie that I can watch for free via 2 am cable TV.

Olivia Haden's father is run over by a robber and killed. Thirteen months later, Olivia is alone with her older brother Miles as their mother leaves on a business trip. Olivia is walking her dog at 2am when she witnesses her rich neighbor being kidnapped. Her brother dismisses her. The cops don't believe her either. While detective Dottie Wheel (Susan Sarandon) is skeptical, she gives her a card. Olivia investigates on her own.

This is what great actors do in between the good stuff. Not everything can be gold. There's no shame in doing it for the money. It's work. This is a low grade kiddie movie with some rather dangerous crime drama. Little Ripley Sobo reminds me of a child Lindsay Lohan with her red hair and spunky personality. Sarandon is out of place like a World Series MVP playing in a Little Leagues game. They filmed this in NYC and that ground level sense is at least something. This is mostly weak with sad comedic attempts. The other actors are functional to relatively good. The writing is simply weak and this is not good.

Early positive reviews say this is great for the kids or a youth group. It is not. Do not let your children watch this unless you also happen to be comfortable having them watch horror movies. At times this movie acts like it is a wacky comedy, with silly characters and situations. And other times it is stark and cruel and emotionally violent. At one point the bad guy covers the little girl character in gasoline and plans to light her on fire until he is stopped with lighter in hand.

Went to see film in Sandy Springs with five kids and three adults, and we all were pleasantly surprised. It's a bit like Home Alone, and like an old Disney film. In fact, they don't make these type of films anymore. A refreshing change from the fast craziness of animated kid films, more real and more exciting. We all laughed and had a good time. The girl who played the lead was delightful! And of course Susan Sarandon is always good played the part of the detective who at first doesn't believe the girl but then does. I was relieved there were no language or sex issues, and there enough funny characters to keep it light and fun. My kids especially loved the scenes with the rabbit, which is huge, and the girl putting herself out there, trying to solve the case. A fun movie and a fun night.

I'd seen a lot of ads for this film on social media and thought I would give it a try. I mean you can't go wrong with Susan Sarandon. The beginning of the film was a bit disjointed, but 10 minutes in I was hooked! Is it getting an Oscar nomination? Probably not, but it's a cute film that I know my little cousins will love. They love Matilda the Musical so I think they will be excited to see Ripley Sobo as Olivia the detective!

As a big brother to a much younger sister, It was interesting seeing how this dynamic played on screen. My sister is 6 years younger than me and growing up we had very little in common. Aaron Sauter does an excellent job of playing the uninterested and annoyed older brother. It reminds me of Home Alone and Harriet the Spy from when I was a kid.