Little Men

As said in my review for the 1940 RKO film, 'Little Men' is a charming, entertaining and heart-warming book. If you like the more popular 'Little Women' and 'Good Wives', 'Little Men' won't disappoint as it does have much of the ingredients that make those two books so good.

The main reason why there is a personal preference towards the other two is to do with that 'Little Women' and 'Good Wives' are stories I've known and loved since childhood whereas 'Little Men' was introduced to me quite some years later.

So far this reviewer has only seen two adaptations, this and the 1940 film, and while this does have flaws it is the far superior adaptation and film. Sure there are omissions, changes and merging of characters, the characters' personalities are not quite as interesting and it doesn't really convey the essence of the book, but there is much more of the original story and spirit here whereas the earlier adaptation, which was terrible as an adaptation and mediocre at best on its own merits, was almost unrecognisable.

'Little Men' looks very nice, simply but cleanly and beautifully photographed with elegant and evocative costumes, sets and scenery. The music score is understated, lilting and soothing, never overbearing, too low-key or inappropriately jaunty. There is much more of the gentle tone, subtle social commentary, charm, poignancy without being too maudlin and gentle humour without being corny or too slapstick-oriented than in the 1940 film, though there are parts that are a little stilted and don't flow as well as they could have done.

Much of the story is wholesome and charming, with a very heart-warming ending. There are a couple of crucial scenes, like the death of John Brooke, that don't have the impact and are clumsily done, and there is a choppiness and skippy nature to the storytelling giving a sense of incompleteness. The film tries to solve this by getting narration to fill in the gaps, but the narration is rather unnecessary and distractingly over-explains at times.

With the acting, some are better than others. The children fare far better than the adults, with the standouts being Michael Colaz and particularly Ben Cook, who is superb and the best thing about the film. The adult actors are disadvantaged by the adult characters being too much in the background and underwritten. Chris Sarandon is a bit too rough and stern as Bhaer, though admittedly it is preferable to having Bhaer played stiffly like he has been. More problematic is a far too bland and subdued Mariel Hemingway as Jo, who has lost her spirit, tomboy-ish charm and spunk and reduced to a paper-thin cut-out.

All in all, a long way from perfect but watchable. As an adaptation, it's still less than ideal but it's much better than the 1940 film. 6/10 Bethany Cox

When I first saw this wonderful film, I was in love! I was in love with the characters! This film portrays such emotion and love! The best character was Dan played by the gorgeous Ben Cook! He made me cry! I think that role prooves what a brilliant actor he is and playing a street urchin was the best bet for him! I would strongly recommend that people watch this film as it is a sensitive and wonderful family film. People will fall in love with this film the minute they watch it.

I absolutely adore this movie. I loved the book, and the movie is a nice version of it. I saw it on TV about two years ago, but since then it hasn't been on and is fairly vague in my mind. I HAVE to buy the DVD soon, as it's a necessity for my collection. People with kids should buy this as it's a great way to introduce them to the world of Louisa May Alcott, but it's not just a film for youngsters. It even made me tear up, which is almost impossible for me, definitely a feel-good film. Lovers of the film Little Women will like this one too, they're very similar in different ways, minus the more famous actors that LW has. I'd give it a solid eight out of ten, highly recommended, and a great family film.

Though some say the actors didn't do very well, I thought they did great. I'm always one to laugh, and this one had me laughing the whole time. Of course, there were emotional scenes, and the end, which was what I would call "heart-warming", I cried. Call me a sissy, but it was a great movie. All of the boys, I thought, did great. And Teddy was an adorable little actor too. The best acting would have been done by Ben Cook, who convinced me the whole time I watched the movie. My twin and I both love this movie. It was just so astounding. A cute little tale that concludes Little Women and makes you want to read the books. I would recommend this to all families. It just happens to be one of the stories that touches everyone. Each character was unique, well-played. You have to love it!

This is a pretty good movie, nothing spectacular but a nice family movie. I didn't much like Mariel Hemingway's Jo, she didn't seem to have much of the tomboyish fun spirit that Jo is famous for. I was surprised to see Chris Sarandon, because this role of his is very different from the one I'm familiar with;Prince Humperdink. I didn't like the Mr. Bhaer of this movie, he was too different from the book character. The boy who played Nat was pretty good, and he gave me the odd feeling I had seen him before, though I have no idea where. I most liked Dan though. There is something very appealing about those tough, street-wise boys, who act all hard but you know they have a heart inside. I thought he was very well played, and I'd like to see that actor (Ben Cook) again. Good movie for kids, adults and some teens might like it too.