Buddy

This is a really wonderful film: a moving "coming of age" story about a young boy named Buddy who faces the challenges of moving into a new neighborhood and thus making new friends.

The film is beautifully directed and told from the title character's perspective. The young actor who plays Buddy, Jeffrey Savant, is especially good. His acting alone makes the film a must see. His unaffected performance immediately engages the audience and we experience first hand a special moment in time: that time in our young lives where we attempt to strike a balance between impressing our friends to "fit in" while trying to remain true to ourselves.

Buddy's journey takes you back to that time in a beautiful and gentle way. See this film.

"Buddy" is a wonderful family film and it is a movie that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The movie has a clear positive message and reinforces an important moral lesson. The moral lesson of the film was easy for children to understand and since it was a short film, it kept a child's attention, without a doubt. The acting in the movie was superb; the child actors were so believable and very talented. The directing was also fantastic, as was the cinematography. I have two young daughters and they both loved this film as much as I did! They wanted to watch it over and over again. Every time my daughters watched this movie, it would open up a great discussion among our family about "right and wrong" and genuine moral issues that kids can identify with in their daily lives. I really loved this movie because it was down to earth, thought-provoking, hilarious, touching, exciting, and real--all these things were contained in this one fantastic short film! I sincerely wish that there were more movies like "Buddy" out there. This is certainly a film that leaves you with a satisfied feeling, and you will be sure that you will want to watch it again too!

"Buddy" grabbed my attention right away with the charming, very real and human presence of the title character, a young boy whose fluid expressions convey every nuance of his feelings. This is very enjoyable to watch, because he finds himself being presented with some pretty big lessons, and to see the simple, unaffected transparency with which he mulls over the constantly new and sometimes uncomfortable information, is by turns funny, profound, and always real. He is supported by a wonderful fellow youngster, whose different take on things is equally obvious and enjoyable, if somewhat divergent. The two boys really capture that ephemeral quality of youth that is at its most poignant even as it begins to diminish under the onslaught of life's unavoidable lessons and subsequent growth. Surrounding these two adventurers are well drawn and acted characters and superb production values. The writing is a delight, a tight, clean, thoroughly enjoyable story that is entertaining and moving, and dare I say enlightening as we learn the same lesson Buddy learns, and as we are given a very valuable moral for folks of any age to ponder.

From the moment Buddy stepped into frame I knew him. His name wasn't Buddy then but I knew him, forty seven years ago. The two teen-age girls a row behind me knew him too. It's hard to keep a screech to yourself you know. As I looked around the theater it became apparent that the three of us weren't the only ones who recognized this kid. It was happening. Each of us wearing our own secret smile, was settling in to watch this little eight year old boy take his first turn at solving a problem which many of us still struggle with today. I was transfixed. Here was a coming of age story you never out grow. No doubt about it, this poignant movie is about kids for kids but really, who reading this review has forgotten the name of their first buddy.

I have a nephew about the same age as the film's star who coincidently finds himself with a similar problem brought on by totally different circumstances. He's not handling it well. I suggested to my sister that she take her son to see BUDDY and to call me the day after. Just as I expected the movie helped open up a dialog between the two of them.

I won't go so far as to prescribe this wonderful movie. I'm saying go see it for the sheer joy and fun of it. And fun it is. Then pass it on. It's the story we all want to see.

I found the title to be a bit misleading. There were no puppies in this movie playing sports. No soccer, football, or basketball of any sort being played by canines. I feel like this film was a blatant attempt to cash in on the Air Buddies movies, and simply falling short. Not even close to being the same level of quality filmmaking as those instant classics. Thumbs down...thumbs WAY down!