Review of Son of Rambow (2007) by Colson V — 24 Jan 2010

Out of the dozens upon dozens upon dozens of movies I have seen, Son of Rambow is without a doubt, one of the greatest I have seen. Directed by Garth Jennings (Director of one of the WORST movies I have seen, Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy) Son of Rambow is set in the early 80's and centers around two boys (who couldn't be more different) that are brought together by a mutual love of cinema and a desire to emulate their favorte action movie icon, John Rambo.

What starts out as an innocent buddy comedy, turns into one of the most intense and emotional experiences I have ever been through. From a distance, Son of Rambow is nothing more than a childish fantasy but to all movie buffs with an appreciation for film, it's much more. Son of Rambow might seem a bit long and tedious for the average moviegoer but for somebody that can appreciate film, it's a masterpiece. When I see all those kids come together to work on their own original film, I realized that I was emotionally attached to this movie. Judging by the plot synopsis, I thought it would be a silly, cut little kids movie with some movie trivia thrown in, but I couldn't have been more wrong. It touched me on a personal level. It reminded me of getting a group of my best friends to work on a short little film that we would play for our families when we wrapped. The final scene to this movie, had me on the verge of tears. The acting in that final scene (And throughout the rest of the film) depicted the very emotions that went through my pals and I when we saw what we created. As always, trouble strikes on set and there are always the "creative differences" that threaten to split the cast and crew and it happened to me as well. These "creative differences" were meerely things like jealousy for not being in a scene, upset that your character dies etc.. The tension that falls on the set of the kids in Son of Rambow depict the realistic problems that children would come across when attacked in such a stressful situation. Filmmaking is tough, and we sometimes aren't even aware of it. Movies about making movies are really the only times where we are reminded of how difficult it is to make a movie, but the great thing is, it's also really the only time where we are reminded of the glowing emotions of accomplishments a cast/crew member endures when they watch it. Son of Rambow shows us this in explicit detail and was perfectly executed.

All in all, Son of Rambow is easily one of the better movies of the year. Instead of making a crappy little kids movie like I expected, Garth Jennings puts us into the mindset of each character and shows us how difficult it is to work with others and pull off a no budget flick. It's an accomplishment to make me cry in a movie and even though i'm just a stupid teenager, Garth Jennings is the closest so far to almost reach that accomplishment. Like I said, this movie may not be for everyone, but I loved the hell out of this, mostly because i'm a movie buff and I can relate to the situations drawn out in this movie. No, I haven't abandoned a religious cult, no I haven't flown a kite with a plastic dog attached into a window, and no I haven't had a French exchange student want to star in a leading role, but I HAVE had a best friend walk out on us, I HAVE had the difficulties it takes to make a movie, but most importantly, I HAVE had the lucky chance of forgiveness and taken my friend back as he, the rest of the crew, and I sat down and watched the long hours of grueling torture and stress unfold into the 10 best minutes of our lives. Son of Rambow is without a doubt, one of the greatest films I have ever seen and I wish it was released wider. I'm sure all fans of movies have seen this already but I wish others have seen it as well. This was a fantastic film that I simply cannot due justice by talking about it. If I could, I'd give this film a higher rating than 5 stars, because that's what it deserves.