Little Secrets

OK, I admit it - I liked Little Secrets. Didn't LOVE it, but I liked it. Which will place me squarely in the critical minority, I'm sure. But, here's the thing. I'm first, and foremost, a family woman. And, from a parental perspective, I can tell you that films I can feel comfortable sitting down and watching with my younger cousins are few and far between. Little Secrets is one of those films, a non-threatening, light-hearted piece of fluff that leaves you feeling….pretty good. A girl puts her ability to keep a confidence to work, though she soon learns it's a tougher job than she imagined in this comedy drama for young people.

A girl puts her ability to keep a confidence to work, though she soon learns it's a tougher job than she imagined in this comedy drama for young people. Emily (Evan Rachel Wood) is a 14-year-old girl who loves music and is studying the violin. She has a real gift as a violinist, and has passed up the opportunity to go to summer camp with her friends to study with her tutor, Pauline (Vivica A. Fox), who believes Emily has a chance of landing a spot in the community symphony orchestra. Emily also has an unusual business on the side -- for 50 cents, she'll hear and keep other kids' secrets, and offer advice on how to keep incriminating facts away from parents, teachers, or other authority figures. However, she also has a secret of her own -- a new family has moved into the neighborhood, and while Philip (Michael Angarano), a year or two younger than Emily, quickly takes a liking to her, she immediately develops a crush on his older brother, David (David Gallagher). However, David has a habit of getting into trouble, and soon Emily is keeping some secrets she's prefer to get off her chest.

If all of this sounds very formulaic it is. There is little in the way of surprises here - much of the plot is recycled from any one of a dozen other family films. But it is loaded with nice little comedic moments. Under the comedic surface lie themes of family unity, cooperation, priorities, and unconditional love.

As for the performances, they're okay. Our star Wood (Thirteen, Simone) doesn't have to stretch too far playing the teenage violinist and Gallagher (TV's Seventh Heaven) gets plenty of face time as Emily's friend. Vivica A. Fox plays Emily's violin teacher. With an ensemble cast this large, it is difficult for anyone in the cast to stand out performance wise, but each gets a moment during the film to reveal a bit of his or her personality.

Overall, Little Secrets is innocent and inoffensive family fare that the kids will probably love and parents will find rather enjoyable.7/10.

This was the best movie, I watched it with my girlfriends at a sleepover. Evan Rachel Wood was awesome. I was hoping that she would choose fill it up. But she didn't. oh well. anyway great movie. I liked the kids, my favorite was Isabelle, she was so funny, and cute. The best part was when she found out that JOrdan was coming to meet her or Jenny her sister anyway. I think Michael Angarano is so cute, and he was the funniest one, the girl with the cats was adorable, and I liked Mikey and Gregory too, I also thought that the part where she fell off the roof was kind of scary.

I had never heard of this movie when I saw it in the video store, but I rented it on a fluke just because I'm a fan of Evan Rachel Wood. It turned out to be a fun and dramatic gem, cute without being too cute. It takes on a difficult challenge, making a kids movie adults can also enjoy, all without Shrek-style irony. The revelations in the end can be seen coming before they happen, but it is still enjoyable watching the arcs of all the characters, as well as the subtle lesson in truth. Recommended rental.

Little Secrets was a gem of a movie picked up only because the big hits were out, and boy was a glad for that. This is a warm hearted and utterly believable little film about teens and kids. The performances by the lead teen stars is so believable I forgot I was watching a Movie, the young kids are so real I swear it was like peering into a real life situation. Kudos to all of the and a tip of the hat to young Landon Kunzelamn as Mikey he cracked me up. Great little movie, don't pass it by on the shelves.

We rented the DVD of this movie the other night, and my daughters and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Those who were hard on the violin faking are being slightly ridiculous, in my humble opinion. I have been playing the violin for 30 years, and in those years I've seen some truly HORRIBLE fake violin "playing" on TV and in movies...for example, Michael Landon as "Pa" in Little House on the Prairie didn't even BOTHER to put the bow on the strings...now HIS faking was laughable. The other night as we watched "Pride and Prejudice" (the A&E version), it was quite noticable that the string quartet was faking, and badly. They could at least attempt to put their bows on their strings! At least Ms. Wood held the violin correctly and moved her fingers sort of close to the rhythms being played. I thought she was one of the better fakers I've seen. According to the commentary on the DVD, she learned all of this by simply watching professional violinists on a tape the director gave her. I have been teaching my own daughter to play, and after two months, she still struggles to hold the bow and the violin correctly. It takes a lot of practice! I applaud Ms. Wood's efforts. Vivica A. Fox, on the other hand, could have used a little of the same kind of practice. But truly, the fake fiddling didn't detract from the story for me at all. They played some very lovely music, and overall, the soundtrack was simply delightful.

The plot of the movie was sweet and quite touching. The child actors were all top notch (particularly Ms Wood, David Angarro, and David Gallagher. I get so tired of seeing movies in which we are subjected to much too "real" situations that some children find themselves in...drug problems, divorce, etc. I found it refreshing that these children lived in a normal neighborhood as MOST Americans do. Sure, bad things happen to kids occasionally, but to dwell on the dark side of life is depressing, and not at all entertaining. This is a kid's movie (actually it's a family movie) and I appreciated that it was sweet and charming. I highly recommend it.