When Zachary Beaver Came to Town

1st watched 4/8/2006 - 5 out of 10 (Dir-John Schultz): OK family drama about how life changes when a traveling sideshow exhibitionist enters Granger, Texas displaying possibly the fattest boy ever, Zachary Beaver. The changes don't come because of Zachary but instead they just happened to occur when he enters town. One family breaks apart when the mother leaves to become a country singer. Another family has a member go into the Army, and Zachary's partner and legal guardian disappears. At this point, Toby from the 1st family, and Cal from the 2nd try to get to know Zachary. First as a joke and later more seriously because of their own personal losses. We get to see Toby try to grow up despite not being in the best of circumstances and as things get worse he tries to escape but obviously can't. An interesting story with inconsistent acting and direction makes for a so-so experience in what could have been a much better movie. Attempts are made to pull at our heartstrings but even Sasha Neulinger's appealing portrayal of Zachary can't help the movie from falling a little flat.

My Boss and I have started exchanging DVD's at work and we are not teenagers or children ....we are extremely mature adults, meaning in their 50's and 60's. Since we work an overnight shift...and our adult lives are very depressing with family and financial problems...we look for movies that are light, fun, meaningful, entertaining and hopefully even....sleep producing. We need to lay down, and let something entertain us while we think of nothing terribly earth shattering and nerve jarring. This is one of the movies she loaned to me. I looked at the title and said...."what on earth is this?"...so put it aside. Today I plugged it in and was pleasantly entertained. I did not, of course, read the book, or ever hear about it. I found it enjoyable and as a retired teacher, I thought.....this would be a movie you could play in school during a restful activity period. It had a message, it was acted according to the audience it was addressing......it was like real life small southern town reality and on the level of the youngsters it was designed for. It touched on many aspects of life that might impact children the age of the characters in this film. This is a worthy family film.

I have seen this movie every year for over five years with my 7th grade students. As an adaptation of the novel, it's both good and bad. It does follow the story, but it adds all sorts of weird things to add action. But what gets us every time is the deplorable acting of the kids.

If you are watching this just as a film to watch with the kids, you'll probably not be that impressed, but it's fine. If you're a teacher watching it with your students, expect some commentary!

Twelve-year-old Texas friends Jonathan Lipnicki (as Toby Wilson) and Cody Linley (as Cal McKnight) react like you might expect when "World's Fattest Boy," 443-pound Sasha Neulinger (as Zachary Beaver), comes to visit their Texas town. There are guffaws, groans, and grins - but, the three lads become pals. Mr. Lipnicki's mother leaves town to become a country music star, Mr. Linley's older brother joins the army, Mr. Neulinger's guardian disappears, and the three lads learn how friendship can help heal loss...

Based on an award-winning children's novel by Kimberly Willis Holt, "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town" gets lost in the translation to motion picture. You can tell, however, there was a good story somewhere. The best storyline involves Linley's war-bound brother. The worst is may be Neulinger's baptism with a fat suit. There are intriguing but unrealized possibilities in wayward characters, like Lipnicki's mother (Jane Krakowski) and Neulinger's guardian (Kevin Corrigan). The book had to be better.

**** When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (10/9/03) John Schultz ~ Jonathan Lipnicki, Cody Linley, Sasha Neulinger, Eric Stoltz

I enjoyed getting the opportunity to view this particular film at the Paramount during the film festival. As I watched it, some aspects of the film reminded me of the movie "Stand By Me". Perhaps, I felt a connection between the portrayal of the strong relationships and endearing and poignant journeys of the three young boys in "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town" and the group of boys in "Stand By Me". Although, it was obviously adapted some from the book, (which so many films are); I felt like it was successful in capturing what to me was the most important message, Acceptance. Furthermore, the film portrayed a wide range of examples of acceptance... (acceptance of self, differences, life and death,) which not only included the primary characters, but also involved the whole town in the film. I appreciate when a film actually contains meaningful and relative lessons in life, yet remains equally entertaining at the same time. The film, "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town", is definitely one that can evoke a wide range of emotions on the viewer's part. Hopefully, it will make it to the "Big Screen" in some form or fashion, so others can get a chance to enjoy it.