Son of Rambow Review
Two British kids become friends while making their own "Rambo" movie
May 17, 2008
Movies don't come much more charming or enjoyable than "Son of Rambow," a low-budget British import that risks being ignored during the fury and clamor of Hollywood's summer releases.
It may be ironic, then, that the film centers around the reaction of two children who become enamored of just the sort of big, loud releases that fill multiplexes each summer. Their obsession with Sylvester Stallone's "First Blood" leads them to make their own movie and, in the process, build a deep and lasting friendship.
SINNER AND SAINT
Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) and Lee Carter (Will Poulter) meet in the same hallway at school, although their lives could hardly be any different. Will is in the hallway because he comes from a strict religious family and is not allowed to watch a movie with the rest of his class. Lee is there because he has been causing trouble again.
After escaping trouble with the school principal, Lee allows Will to tag along to his home. While there, Will stumbles over a bootlegged copy of "First Blood," the world's introduction to Rambo. The sheltered but imaginative Will cannot get the adventure out of his head and comes up with an idea for a movie. Lee, who is hoping to enter an amateur film competition, agrees to make the film as long as Will does everything he says. This leads to a series of slapstick mishaps, tension with Will's mother and the religious community and a friendship with a quirky French foreign exchange student. Director Garth Jennings mixes this with a wonderfully cheesy 1980s vibe and creates something truly unique.
MORE THAN A MOVIE
The crude attempts at action filmmaking provide numerous opportunities for laughter in "Son of Rambow," but Jennings clearly has more in mind. He is more interested in telling a story about a child's untethered imagination and how unlikely friendships are formed over a common interest. The film's 1980 setting is more than just a device to allow "First Blood" to be squeezed into the plot. This was the time when camcorders were available at affordable prices and children all over the world discovered the possibility of making their own cinematic adventures.
Earlier this year, Michel Gondry's "Be Kind Rewind" attempted to extol the pleasure of home-grown filmmaking. That film suffered from Gondry's quirks and focused too much on the films instead of the communal nature of film. Jennings makes no such mistake and allows the audience to see how the shy and friendless Will becomes popular and even grows a bit while making movies.
There is also a warning against religious fundamentalism that cannot be missed. Will's mother is never presented as a tyrant, but the church's stringent guidelines lead to a largely joyless life. Will learns not to abandon his faith but that a faith that does not allow for some joy and creativity is not worth believing in.
Poulter and Milner are fantastically funny and believable in this film and never come across as cloying or annoying. The film's finale could have been sappy and cheesy, but with the right acting and directing it becomes touching. "Son of Rambow" is a small film about childhood pleasures. And yet it will put a gigantic smile on audiences' faces.
