Welcome to Reel People. It’s a place where, you guessed it, real people like yourselves spout off on new movie releases. It works best if you - yes, we mean you - jump into the forum link below and tell us what you think of the movie, too.

This week, we’re watching Son of Rambow.

What I Liked: “Son of Rambow” is a fun, low budget family movie. It reminds me of my own crazy adventures as a kid. I remember having a few childhood friends like the kids in this movie that had no supervision, got away with staying out all hours of the night, and answered to no one. The film clips and several references to the first Rambo movie “First Blood” are hilarious. The main characters Will and Lee have good chemistry, they couldn’t be more opposite each other and this difference provides a lot of good comedy. As the film progresses the boys form a very strong bond which seems very genuine. It is also very amusing how Will keeps sneaking away from his ultra strict religious family to film their homemade Rambo movie.

What I Disliked: The film isn’t that structured. Some of the acting by the supporting characters is very weak, although this might have been intentional to give the film a campy feel. The addition of so many kids to the boys’ homemade movie weakened their effort and gave their film a very haphazard feel - ironically one of the boys makes a similar comment in the movie.

Would I Recommend?: I would recommend it as good film for the family.

Score: 6 out of 10

- Nick Conrad

What I Liked: The movie was in one word, cute. There probably are a few more negative words to add but all in all it was defintitely a cute movie. Not too deep, not too violent, funny or moving. Really just cute. The best parts were the sequences of the two main characters were filming their own movie “Son of Rambow” for a young persons film contest. Will Poulter, in his first movie role as Lee Carter, proved to be a strong young talent.

What I Disliked: Upon seeing the preview, it seemed that it could be a pretty decent movie. It started off strong but faded fast. It was set in the early 1980s, which was sort of diregarded the entire movie, until a strange party scene that involved pop rocks, smelly erasers and Depeche Mode. It seemed out of place as did alot of scenes in the movie.

Would I Recommend?: I would probably not recommend “Son of Rambow.” It is not a horrible movie, but I think most people can find something better to do for two hours.

Score: 6 out of 10

- Stephanie Powers

What I Liked: Even though this is the classic tale of the bonding of two young social outcasts, it is an intrinsically sweet telling.  The juvenile leads are exceptionally good, especially Will Poulter as Lee Carter.  Poulter and Bill Millner (as Will Proudfoot) prove extremely effective foils for each other’s characters.  The humor is underpinned with explorations of popularity in its many guises. In an interesting twist, the French exchange student, who becomes “The” person at the english school Lee and Will attend, is shown to be unpopular amongst his fellow french students. The development of Lee and Will’s relationship is finely drawn and fleshed.  The ancillary characters are equally effective.  Jessica Stevenson as Will’s mum, manages to play a member of the Plymouth Brethren (a strictly puritanical sect) with the religious element of the role not completely dominant.

What I Disliked: These do not prove to be negative factors in the end, however, they they initially impacted my opinion. This movie was not as I’d anticipated on the basis of its’ promotional trailers. “Son of Rambow” is much less of a farce than indicated - I had expected uncomplicated humor, whereas the movie actually has depth and real character development.
Also, at first I found the dated setting of the film slightly distracting. Whilst I do see the virtue of setting this movie at the time of the initial cinematic release of “Rambo” (First Blood)in the early 80’s, the pervasiveness of following Rambos required me to actually place the date of the first. However, the sight of giant cell phones, grainy tapes and the excesses of 80’s teenage fashion ended up being welcome sight additions to the humor.

Would I Recommend?: Yes.  It is a good movie - a comedy with degrees of heart and depth. It is a “family” movie that most families can not only bear to watch, but to enjoy. The themes it conveys cover the ties that bind, nurture and sustain families and friends, however imperfect the individuals may be. A timeless message.

Score: 8 out of 10

- Marian Hill