written by for Venus Rising Magazine
cancer 08 Issue
A quirky look at boyhood and film-making in the 1980s, “Son of Rambow” is a welcome diversion from the current deluge of blockbuster remakes and super hero epics in theaters this summer. Written and directed by Garth Jennings and produced by Nick Goldsmith, I like the way this film spins a standard, winning movie formula at a slightly awkward angle.
In this film, two lonely and wayward boys are eventually bound together by blood because of a mutual love of film-making and the discovery of the movie “Rambo.” Lee Carter, lives with his neglectful older brother, Lawrence (Ed Westwick), next to a nursing home. Their parents are perpetually away it seems, and Lee is definitely feeling the pain. However, he has found a way to distract himself from his unhappy life by 1) getting into trouble, and 2) making his own film epic in hopes of winning a contest. Will is a sheltered and fatherless loner whose family belongs to some type of Quaker-esque church that doesn’t allow TV or much outside influence. When the two boys collide at school, it is the character Rambo that ignites Will’s already powerful imagination and begins his film-making adventure with Lee, his first real friend.
The boys then embark on a classic journey of commitment and betrayal alongside French foreign exchange students, pop rocks, spiky hair, and painful family situations. The film also gleefully maps out the joys and the pitfalls of the creative process as all the characters in the film are changed forever by the boys’ new obsession. The ending is also extremely satisfying...even though it is not very likely.
If you are looking for something other than standard summer glitzy action, I highly suggest that you give this entertaining, lower-budget film a chance.
© 2008 Venus Rising Magazine