Sticks and Stones

I guess this film served some useful purpose, in that it turned out to be one of the only things the entirety of my house actually agreed on. It is awful. Its complete predictability, its hollow sentimentality, its absolute detachment from reality are all marvels to behold.

The 'bully' is one of the least intimidating characters I have ever seen on film. I completely fail to comprehend just how anyone could feel threatened by such a sweet looking young man. I couldn't give a monkeys whether the main character played baseball ever again and I found the lack of any lifelike character laughable and pitying. The most realistic thing about it was the language, and to all those who complained about this, the truth is out... Kids Swear.

I think this movie was quite good and it was not 'false advertising', it was worthwhile and deals with some realistic issues. I guess some teenagers are over-protected and don't know much about the real world but they can't be sheltered for life, matey. Believe it or not, this happens somewhere.

I thought I would see plenty of hard-hitting drama in this, but was disappointed in many areas. This is more of a baseball tale (ala "The Natural") than a drama about bullying. The three main characters are generally bad actors, making scenes that are supposed to be disturbing rather cheesy. I actually had more sympathy for the abused bully than these nerds. He went through a lot more punishment than they did, especially because of his home turbulent life. Also, it's interesting how the rich kid's older brother bullied him almost as much, yet we're supposed to find him likable? I think not. The ending was VERY predictable and drug out, I couldn't wait to see the end credits pop up. The only reason to watch this sloppy flick is Gary Busey who does his usual tough guy routine. That man is never a bore, no matter how often he is type-cast. So, I gave this flick an extra star because of Mr. Busey. Otherwise, I regret streaming it on Prime Video at all.

I watched this film because it reminded very similarly of a favorite Canadian film of mine, 'The Boy's Club' starring Chris Penna and Devon Sawa. While I didn't care for the baseball elements, I still enjoyed it. It is about three teen boys who have a bully in their life and this bully goes and bully's each one of the boys, they find a gun and they think can solve their problems with it. The film is from 1996 but I still liked it. The acting is good and has a good script. The music is boring though so I wasn't a fan of that. Unfortunately, this movie is not on DVD in the USA or Canada and is only on VHS but if you can find it, I say go and watch it as it is enjoyable.

8/10 stars.

This movie is an excellent example of film-making on a low budget. Based on the structure of "3 Little Pigs" plus variation, it is well constructed and fairly well cast (the bully, Hayes, is well acted but not really believable. Joey's mother is not believable at all). The story provides excellent opportunities for exploring parental and teenage values. Those that condemn this little gem of a film have, perhaps, a great deal to learn about films and film-making. This is a very useful film in teaching first year students about a variety of aspects of film.

John Hill. Senior Lecturer, Film Video and Multimedia, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa