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Movies / On DVD / Son of Rambow
Son of Rambow

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Son of Rambow (2008)

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Reviews Counted: 114

Fresh: 85

Rotten:29

Average Rating: 6.9/10

Consensus: Undeniable heart and charming young leads save the film's nostalgic storyline from suffering at the hands predictability.

Rated: 12A

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:04-04-2008

Synopsis: Writer-director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith, who as Hammer & Tongs have made music videos for such groups as Fatboy Slim, Supergrass, Blur, and REM, follow up their 2005 film, THE... Writer-director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith, who as Hammer & Tongs have made music videos for such groups as Fatboy Slim, Supergrass, Blur, and REM, follow up their 2005 film, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, with the charming indie SON OF RAMBOW, a love letter to the movies. A success at such festivals as Toronto and Sundance, SON OF RAMBOW stars Bill Milner as Will Proudfoot, a shy, reserved young boy who is different from the other kids because his family is part of the Brethren, a religion that shuns the outside world, not allowing him to have friends at school or to watch television. While in the hallway in school one day because he can't watch an educational film in class, Will gets into a fight with Lee Carter (Will Poulter), a tough kid who gets into trouble all the time. Lee forces Will to help him make a homemade version of the Sylvester Stallone film FIRST BLOOD, but after watching the original, Will is captivated by the movie and writes his own sequel, casting himself as the son of Rambow (he misspells the name of the character). Will and Lee use their imagination and lots of grit to get the project off the ground, bonding as only blood brothers can. But soon the entire school wants to participate in the movie, including ultra-cool French exchange student Didier Revol (Jules Sitruk), jeopardizing the integrity of the production as well as Will and Lee's growing friendship. Milner and Poulter, both making their feature-film debuts, are engaging as the lead characters. Jennings sets SON OF RAMBOW in the 1980s, before cell phones, digital cameras, and YouTube changed the way people communicate. Amid a soundtrack that includes music from such seminal period bands as The Cure and Depeche Mode, the two young boys learn about family and friendship, jealousy and ego as their carefully controlled worlds threaten to implode. [More]

Starring: Will Poulter, Bill Milner, Jules Sitruck, Charlie Thrift

Starring: Will Poulter, Bill Milner, Jules Sitruck, Charlie Thrift, Jessica Stevenson, Neil Dudgeon

Director: Garth Jennings

Director: Garth Jennings
Screenwriter: Garth Jennings
Producer: Nick Goldsmith
Composer: Joby Talbot
Studio: Paramount Vantage

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Reviews for Son of Rambow

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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A bright and very silly film with solid, provocative themes that really stick with us.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
05/03/08
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

A potentially disposable, tongue-in-cheek First Blood pisstake turns out to be a deeply effective, surprisingly touching tale of family and childhood friendship. If you only see one Rambo movie this year, make sure it’s this one.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/06/08
Dan Jolin
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

You'd have to be a bigger cynic than Richard Dawkins not to have your cockles warmed by this gem.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies UK | comment 3 Comments
04/06/08
Orlando Parfitt
IGN Movies UK

Integrates its slapstick genre pastiche into a thoughtful story about peer pressure, neglect and yearning

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/03/07
Ben Walters
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Crammed tight with every kid-pic cliche you can imagine.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
09/15/08
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

It's a fun idea, but quite awkwardly staged and, in the end, not particularly engaging.

Full Review Source: The Australian | comment Comment
09/12/08
David Stratton
The Australian

A feel-good family flick that doesn't pander to the younger members of the equation.

Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com | comment Comment
09/08/08
Heather Huntington
ReelzChannel.com

This is a winner, a film to which you can safely take your kids and enjoy yourself.

Full Review Source: MovieTime, ABC Radio National | comment Comment
09/05/08
Julie Rigg
MovieTime, ABC Radio National

Waffles between heart-on-its-sleeve candor and winking self-awareness.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
09/05/08
Brian Duff
FILMINK (Australia)

Though the film is primarily designed to appeal to viewers in the early-teen demographic, a maturity and intelligence is at work here that will connect with many adults also.

Full Review Source: Herald Sun (Australia) | comment 1 Comment
09/05/08
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)

The script is not so much written as assembled, anecdote by anecdote. As a result, you never quite settle in.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
09/05/08
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald

It's a mildly startling choice of subject matter, but Jennings takes for granted that even the most innocent cineastes have their sadistic side.

Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | comment Comment
09/05/08
Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)

This quite charming film does have a strangeness about it; you feel that not all the pieces fit comfortably together.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
09/05/08
Margaret Pomeranz
At the Movies (Australia)

I was not so engaged as to be moved . . . and felt impatient at the lack of dramatic pace

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/29/08
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile

It may not all work but Son of Rambow is a totally original and really sweet film with an ultra soft heart

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/29/08
Louise Keller
Urban Cinefile

Its heart is surely in the right place. Yet so much of it just doesn't work...that it's hard to get very excited about it.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
08/22/08
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Jennings and Goldsmith's kid-fueled '80s film proves as inspiring as it is inspired.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
06/12/08
Todd Gilchrist
IGN Movies

The boys' video project is modern enough to stand in contrast to the brick and tweed of the locale, but rather than glossing over that uncomfortable fit, Jennings highlights it with a one-man Flock Of Seagulls.

Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment Comment
06/09/08
Robert Davis
Paste Magazine

An almost unbearably tedious kidpic about two fatherless boy opposites using Rambo as a role model.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
06/08/08
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

...an uneven film, but a special one that earns its ahs.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
06/06/08
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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