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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:115

Fresh:85

Rotten:30

Average Rating:6.8/10

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 source; UK critics are listed first)
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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
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
Orlando Parfitt
IGN Movies UK

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
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

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
Ben Walters
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you, too, are a son of Rambow, or are from the era of The Lone Ranger or even the Power Rangers, this movie calls to you.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
06/05/08
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

All part of growing up, an experience Son of Rambow portrays with genuine insight.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
05/08/08
Bill Goodykoontz
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic

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

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
06/06/08
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Son of Rambow maintains just the right tone throughout with its guileless, makeshift charm.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
05/01/08
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

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
Margaret Pomeranz
At the Movies (Australia)

Funny and sweet and guaranteed to flood you with good feeling.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
05/16/08
Kimberly Jones
Kimberly Jones
Austin Chronicle

Son of Rambow is half a great movie. At its best, it is a comic epic for half-pints.

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment Comment
05/16/08
Michael Sragow
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun

(Son of Rambow) is definitely a movie out of left field, but it does have some pretty funny laughs and does make you feel really tingly inside.

Full Review Source: BDK Reviews | comment Comment
05/13/08
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy
BDK Reviews

It’s an absolute delight.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
05/09/08
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

Funnier than anything in this vaguely dark comedy is the thought of [Sly] Stallone sitting through it.

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
08/24/09
Rob Nelson
Rob Nelson
Boston Phoenix

It’s cute and it’s funny and its comic view of adolescence as a series of changed alliances and curfew violations is, for the most part, refreshingly free of sentimental cant.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/29/07
Ray Greene
Ray Greene
Boxoffice Magazine

This Sundance hit is as clever and charming as you hope it will be, though, regrettably, not consistently so.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
05/09/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

A delightfully eccentric fantasy, flush with laughs and displays of fantastical ink-stained escapism; an unforgettable triumph of heart and giggles. One of the few assuredly must-see films of 2008.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
04/08/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com

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
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

It's really a touching kids movie about youthful imagination and family values. That's not what I wanted!

Full Review Source: Can Magazine | comment Comment
05/09/08
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
Can Magazine

It would be dishonest of me to say that it's more than an endearing, well-acted trifle with lovely intentions.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
05/23/08
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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