When I heard about this film, it became a must see. The creators of Little Miss Sunshine? Steve Carrell and Toni Collette? A feel good coming of age story? What would not be to like? Basic plot, a 14 year old boy spends the summer with his mother (Toni Collette) and her obnoxious boyfriend (Steve Carrell) at his beach house. In order to escape his misery, he gets a job at a local water park where Owen (Sam Rockwell), the outrageous water park manager with a big heart takes him under his wing and helps him out of his shell. The plot is a lot like "Meatballs," one of my favorite films of the 70s. That may have been the problem for me. Sam Rockwell's characterization is so much like Bill Murray's that he should be arrested for stealing a performance.
The young boy portraying Duncan completely overplays the role. Duncan is so socially withdrawn and awkward that one would think that there was some level of autism going on. I found it hard to warm up to this character.
Plot holes run through the whole movie. We are to believe that Duncan is working every day at this water park and his mother doesn't even question where he is. When Owen, a grown man, drives him home for the first time, his mother casually questions "who is this friend of yours who drives?" and doesn't say another word about it.
There are other characters and plot lines that are never fully developed. Maya Rudolph plays Owen's boss. The two had a relationship that went south. This is mentioned in one scene and never explored further despite the fact that there seemed to be ongoing feeling between the two. There is also an ongoing joke about a neighborhood kid with a lazy eye that becomes a running gag despite it not being particularly funny.
I'm not getting all the glowing reviews. Maybe my expectations were too high. But another "Little Miss Sunshine" this is definitely not.
The young boy portraying Duncan completely overplays the role. Duncan is so socially withdrawn and awkward that one would think that there was some level of autism going on. I found it hard to warm up to this character.
Plot holes run through the whole movie. We are to believe that Duncan is working every day at this water park and his mother doesn't even question where he is. When Owen, a grown man, drives him home for the first time, his mother casually questions "who is this friend of yours who drives?" and doesn't say another word about it.
There are other characters and plot lines that are never fully developed. Maya Rudolph plays Owen's boss. The two had a relationship that went south. This is mentioned in one scene and never explored further despite the fact that there seemed to be ongoing feeling between the two. There is also an ongoing joke about a neighborhood kid with a lazy eye that becomes a running gag despite it not being particularly funny.
I'm not getting all the glowing reviews. Maybe my expectations were too high. But another "Little Miss Sunshine" this is definitely not.