Son of Rambow

I was lucky enough to see this film at a private screening in London and i'm happy to say it really does live up to the hype. You can see why Paramount bought this film for $8 million (a record for any film being bought at Sundance) as they will surely make ten times that.

This film has something for everyone; laughter, emotion and enough nostalgic material from the 80's to keep any generation from that decade and previous ones happy.

I was also extremely impressed with the two young unknown (at the point of this review) leads. It's worth seeing this film just for their performances.

The film the two boys make within the film is quite charming too and is itself better than most of the crap being made today, even if it is essentially a home movie being filmed in some woods with a camcorder.

Quite simply a modern day classic and will no doubt hold a space in all film buffs DVD collection.

Well Done!

Son of Rambow, set in 1980's England, tells the story of two young schoolboys making a home-video addition to the Rambo series. This promising theme gives rise to one of the most hilarious comedies in recent cinema, memorable not only for countless laugh-out-loud moments but also for its engaging and unexpectedly moving story.

Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) and Lee Carter (Will Poulter) are a chalk and cheese pairing, thrown together by chance after being summoned to detention at school. Will, from a fatherless family in the grip of the austerely religious Brethren, is a heart-warmingly polite boy harbouring a boundlessly artistic imagination; Carter, from a parentless household, is a lonely rebel with a total lack of respect for everyone except his astoundingly self-absorbed brother, marvellously played by Ed Westwick. And yet, following their chance encounter, the situation where naïve and amiable Will is exploited by sharp-witted and seemingly cynical Carter is replaced by mounting empathy and friendship between the two, alternately spurred and severed by their family backgrounds and their turbulent film-making.

The two leads are remarkable debut actors, making the story touching and believable and realising the film's comic potential. Poulter is hilarious in the role of Carter, delivering stinging wit and outraged putdowns with aplomb. The shooting of the film provides some hysterical contrasts between grown-up pretensions and childlike absurdity, with gun-battle sequences ripped straight from 'Rambo: First Blood' interspersed with footage of a flying dog attack.

The overlapping secondary story, portraying the school-playground infatuation with the New Wave style of French exchange student Didier, is also a rich seam of humour; the stinging parody of teenage culture culminates in Will and Carter's visit to the school common room, populated by posing, pogoing teens. The supporting cast of adults also includes some fine comic actors, including Jessica Stevenson (notably of TV comedy Spaced) and Adam (of the Adam and Joe Show fame).

Writer-director Garth Jennings skilfully weaves together the overlapping worlds of children, teenagers and adults in this film with excellent dialogue and cinematography. The camera-work is striking in many places, particularly the opening montage of front gardens, with Lee riding his bike past and casually causing havoc. The film also benefits from its bubbly soundtrack, composed by Joby Talbot. This is a superb comedy and definitely the best Rambo film ever.

"Son of Rambow" is a cute and enjoyable film. However, it's one that has an amazingly unlikely ending and it has a few loose ends...but on balance it is worth seeing.

Will is a young boy who appears to be about 8 years-old who is very sad and lonely. This is because his family are members of an ultra-religious sect and Will isn't allowed to do many of the things other kids do. However, oddly, his mother sends him to school with other kids....kids who are NOT from this same religious order. But being an oddball, he's mostly alone...that is until he meets Lee Carter, the kid who's been voted most likely to go to prison before he reaches puberty!

So what do these two boys have in common? Well, they both want to make a movie....a sequel to "Rambo: First Blood"...and making films and hanging with this 'bad kid' is a serious breech of the rules for Will. And, what does a weird French foreign exchange student have to do with all this?

The film has some charming moments and the child actors did a very nice job. But the final portion of the film, while enjoyable, makes no sense and seems more formulaic than intelligently made. Still, it's a cute little film....and there aren't too many like it.

I had high hopes for this film as it's very much the era I grew up in.

I too wanted to send a film for 'Screen Test' (an 80s UK film quiz show for children's TV with a regular slot for home-made films) though I didn't get tosee Sly eating snakes and stitching up his arm till much later.

I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint at all. The performances were wonderful (especially the young leads) and as well as having more than its fair share of laugh out loud moments, there's a real warmth and emotional truth to this story of friendship, growing up and blowing stuff up.

I really hope 'Son Of Rambow' is the hit it deserves to be.

If you sometimes feel like all you watch are big-budget 'blockbuster' movies this is the film to remind you what movie-making should be.

Attended a preview screening this week, and can't wait for the weekend so I can go back and watch it again. The screening was packed, and the general reaction definitely agreed with my own.

There are several 'laugh-out-loud' moments, from the opening titles, to the touching climax, and at many points in between, in a well written, perfectly paced film. I am someone who goes to a lot of movies, and sometimes find myself checking my watch, but this draws you in from the start, and it never loses you.

Probably has most appeal for those , like myself, who were in the UK in the 80's but I'm sure it has appeal for all, and hope the two leads go on to further success in the future. There is an innocent charm about the lead pairing, and the movie as a whole, that should transcend national and cultural boundaries.