Son of Rambow

"This has been my best day ever!"

Written & Directed by: Garth Jennings

Starring: Will Poulter, Bill Milner, Jessica Stevenson

My Rating: 4/10

If there's one thing that really gets my goat it's films selling themselves as the next big indie thing and it turns out its a marketing ploy and its not actually that indie at all.
Son of Rambow is directed by Garth Jennings of such "indie" favourites as The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Oh come on! The way people went on about this film, I was expecting handheld camcorder and a thousand pound budget. It is nothing of the sort. Like last year's Juno, it is directed by a pro who has proven he can make a glossy big-budget Hollywood film. I know its immature to dog a film for this reason but I can't help it. It's downright infuriating.

Ok, all that aside, it's an ok movie. It's very Hollywood, it's very standard and didn't have half the charm or sweetness I'd envisioned. The story revolves around bad boy Lee and good boy Will who is part of a religion that does not allow television. So when he sees a pirate version of First Blood he sets about helping Lee make a movie, Son of Rambo (the "w" in the Rambow of the title is added for copyright reasons. What a world we live in!). The usual trials and tribulations occur and there's the obligatory happy ending. Forget the annoying marketing for a second, there's just nothing memorable about this film. It's pretty run-of-the-mill. It's funny, and enjoyable (though it drags a little in parts) but its got nice performances and a good deal of imagination.

I guess all you need to know about Son of Rambow is that there's nothing very offensive about it, but then again, there's not much to love either. See it if you're bored on a saturday night. You'll have fun.

- Charlene Lydon 28/7/08