Kids going commando

Reality Check Starring Bill Milner and Will Poulter Directed by Garth Jennings Distributed by Paramount Vintage

B-

Children, thankfully, can be inquisitive little munchkins. If they weren’t, ET would’ve gone undiscovered, Transformers would’ve gone the way of GoBots, and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” wouldn’t have nearly as many crotch shots. Curiosity can be a blessing, but it’s also the thing that killed the cat.

“Son of Rambow” shows how childhood mischievousness can evolve from mere antics into future Hollywood directors. Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson did short films when they were young, and look at them now.

This is the story of two other young filmmakers, the artistically timid Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) and the “Whatever! I do what I want” type, Lee Carter (Will Poulter). They see “Rambo: First Blood” and become so inspired that they decide to make their own action movie, “Son of Rambow,” for a local film contest. In this short film, Proudfoot’s character goes deep behind enemy lines to save his father. From there the movie presents the ultra low-budget production, from its over-the-top kiddy acting to the “Jackass”-style stunts.

First and foremost: At the risk of spoiling some plot, this is not a propaganda film about violence in the media. This isn’t a film that right-wing conservative Christians and PTA control freaks can use as evidence that fake violence inspires children to commit real violence. Rather, this is a film about childhood mischief. It’s a film about what happens when we let up on the reigns on kids and let them be kids, down to the jumping in mud pits or catapulting one another over boxes. Some nostalgia might apply.

That is the film’s first major obstacle. The second biggest is the cast. Children, being kids, aren’t exactly known for their theatrical talents. They haven’t experienced some of the highs and lows of life that make senior actors so great. That said, Milner and Poulter are fantastic. Their contrasting personalities only make their budding friendship all the sweeter and more endearing. These kids have some true acting chops – let’s hope they don’t go the way of Frankie Muniz anytime soon.

Aside from the performances, there isn’t much else to the film. It’s about some kids wanting to make a movie. Sure, there’s the obligatory subplot – in this case, about a group of French foreign exchange students – in an effort to add depth to the film, but it doesn’t do much. It also doesn’t help that the lead French student looks like a cross between ’80s Michael Jackson and Prince with a Sweeney Todd haircut. Were the ’80s really that, well, uncoordinated?

The film tends to tug on the heartstrings a tad too much for it to be a man’s movie. Women might enjoy it because the kids are just so darn irresistible, and it can make a good date movie if you two are feeling sentimental – or, if planning for the future, it illustrates what the pratfalls of having kids would be (some parts are just shocking enough to make one consider self-sterilization). At other times, the film can become so sweet that you might go into diabetic shock. It doesn’t help that other than the two main children, the other characters are just underdeveloped.

And it does tend to drag – the overall pacing is just plain slow. Some of the cliches employed also dock a few points from the film’s overall score. They don’t need mentioning – you’re smart enough to smell them out.

But all complaints aside, “Son of Rambow” is a good film. It’s not spectacular in any sense of the word, but it was a good movie with some funny moments thrown in to keep the audience awake long enough to survive through the plodding pacing and dialogue. Thankfully, the two lead kids will consistently keep you amazed at their talents.