LomzaLady

I think there is a real problem here with what could have been a real 'sleeper' - a modest, but potentially good, film. That problem is the continuity. This movie has a thrown together look, with scenes that don't match, and with dialog that is sometimes spoken as if some climax is about to happen, but never does.

I loved Jeff Morrow in this - he seems to be in a completely different (and better) picture than most of the rest of the cast. Colleen Gray is very pretty, but why is she all dolled up and coiffed in a 1950s beehive-type hairdo if she's out in the Wild West? In typical Hollywood style, no matter what befalls her, her lipstick never smears.

The actors are called upon to suffer many hardships, and one minute they are walking in the desert, and the next they are walking next to a stream near some woods, and how they got there is never accounted for. I couldn't keep track of when they had a wagon and horse, and when they didn't. Events sometimes seem to unfold backwards.

That isn't the actors fault. It's annoying, but it shouldn't detract from the performances, and the kernel of a good story that just never develops properly. It should lead the viewer to speculate about how this movie could have been a bit better. Maybe someone will remake it some day.

If you want to know the plot of this excellent little film, read all of the other very well put comments. All I want to say is: I was just a little younger than the Joey of this film when it was made. I lived in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn where he lived. I took the same train he took to get to Coney Island. At Coney Island, I did all the things he and his brother did (except ride the Parachute Jump - too scary, and anyway they stopped allowing small children on it soon afterwards -- too dangerous), including collecting empty bottles to return to food stands to get a little pocket change. I rode those very same ponies. I waded through those same Coney Island streets that got flooded every time it rained. It always makes my heart jump a little when Lenny is in the candy store and says "Give me a chocolate pop." He doesn't mean soda - in Brooklyn, a "pop" was ice cream on a stick (that's why a Popsicle is called a "Pop"sicle).

That is how we looked, that is how we talked, those are the games we played (BB guns were like forbidden fruit to city boys).

This film gets everything exactly right, in the most charming way, and I love it.

This movie was a very pleasant surprise, and is an excellent example of what a family movie is supposed to be. It uses the clever metaphor of having to train to be a superhero to represent the trials and tribulations of getting through high school and growing up. Elements of Harry Potter and various comic books situations are very well incorporated.

The best part of this movie, in addition to the really good performances, especially by Michael Angarano, a very poised and skillful young actor, is the fact that it has enough in it to please viewers of all ages. The dialog is witty, and the family situations are realistic enough to please adults, there are enough teenage triumph, setbacks and romance to appeal to teens, and there is plenty of comic book style slapstick to delight children. I also liked the fact that the supporting players, notably Dave Foley and Kevin MacDonald, are silly, but actually very funny. Usually such roles are presented as 'throw-aways' for an easy laugh, but these two use their Kids in the Hall talents to make their scenes as significant as those of the lead actors.

This movie didn't get nearly enough publicity. It really is very, very good, and should be given enough support to become the classic it deserves to be.