Son of Rambow: Review By Dodd

*The following is a DVD review published as a theatrical review due to technical errors.

There is something that film rarely captures and that is the true representation of a child’s imagination. I realize there are plenty of projects out there about the extravagant places that a child goes when they do get creative. Films such as this usually represent kids immersing themselves in a make-believe world such as The Neverending Story. This may be what young ones are thinking when they go to such places in their mind, but how often does a movie shed light on the exterior of such youthful journeys? This is exactly what the recent indie Son of Rambow accomplishes by focusing on the actual methods that some kids may use to escape their boring lives at school.

The film is set in the 1980’s when the film First Blood hits theater screens in Britain. The violent war film featuring a muscular Sly Stallone as John Rambo is intended for grown-ups, but it does not keep away the ornery Lee Carter (Will Poulter) who sits in the theater dragging away at a cigarette and pirating the movie with his clunky VHS camcorder. On the complete other end of bad boy/good boy spectrum is fragile Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) whose devoutly religious family forces him to stand in front of the movie theater and protest the violence of the Rambo film.

As fate would have it these two drastically different boys encounter one another and have a rough introduction. However once Will caves into Lee Carter’s pushy orders the two become somewhat of friends in a submissive/dominant sort of way. Lee Carter has aspirations of making a film that follows and lives up to First Blood with his camcorder and he needs Will to serve as his star. The project is of course titled Son of Rambow and features John Rambo’s young son setting out on a mission to save his father who has been abducted. To play the role of John Rambo is a disabled resident from the rest home that Lee Carter’s parents run who is tossed in front of the camera wearing a Stallone wig.

As most movies about friendship set out to prove, the two boys encounter rockiness in their newfound relationship. A debate arises as to who is really in charge of making the film. Once the kids from school discover the project they all want to be a part of the action. This especially includes an exotic French exchange student (Jules Sitruk) who spends the duration of the film chomping bubble gum, chain smoking, and making out with the naïve young girls who are infatuated with his “otherness”.

Films about imagination come and go and they are not necessarily bad films. However most of them tend to do the thinking for us. While fantasies may be visually enriching, they never show us the real side of what children can do to create these fantasies. Watching Lee Carter and Will trying to create a sequel to First Blood is probably one of the most poignant things I have seen all year, and I am sure anyone who is a movie lover would agree. When I was a child, I set out to create a second installment of Ghostbusters and a third installment of Creepshow (both eventually ended up getting made and we know how those turned out). Lee Carter has a great admiration for John Rambo and his mission to create a sequel is an entertaining and even realistic look at the machismo that comes with making the transition from being a boy to being a man.

What is even more fun to watch is what these children do to create their film. With a camera in hand and miscellaneous junk at their disposal, Lee Carter and Will are a lot like The Little Rascals crossed with Howard Hawks. This is particularly so when Will commits to performing his own stunts, which should never be tried at home. Bill Milner and Will Poulter are perfectly cast as these main characters. Milner gives Will a sense of doughy-eyed excitement while Poulter brings a devilish and determined quality to Lee Carter, and these two characters with such opposite traits end up having just the right chemistry to fuel this wild raucous of a family comedy. Jules Sitruk is also a hoot as the foreign exchange student. According to an interview that I previously heard with director Garth Jennings, the actor actually brought his own cigarettes while auditioning for the film. This is clearly the film he was born to play.

The DVD contains a handful of extras that can be contained on a single disc with the film. The Making of Son of Rambow is a very different feauturette that takes a unique angle. Director Garth Jennings, produced Nick Goldsmith, and stars Will Poulter and Bill Milner sit around a table for 30 minutes and comment on the making of the film. I really appreciated this more true angle as opposed to predictable fluff pieces in which actors come up with different ways to say they enjoyed working on the film. The DVD also includes a short film titled Aron that Garth Jennings directed which inspired the final product that is Son of Rambow. This is a brilliant example of how imaginative kids can be and includes opening credits written in black marker on a scrolling stack of printer paper.

The DVD also contains a commentary track featuring the same subjects from the aforementioned featurette. Now I am not saying to steer clear of this commentary track. It is fun and there is not a dull moment. However the time spent with this bunch on the 30-minute featurette will suffice if you are short on time.

Widescreen

Garth Jennings does not take an amateur approach to directing this film. Instead he crafts a well-directed film that captures amateurs remarkably.

5.1 Dolby Surround. The film comes equipped with a whimsical score that will certainly make viewers feel that since of mischievousness.

The movie comes on a single disc in a standard keep case. The front cover pictures Lee Carter in his Rambo gear holding a homemade action prop.

Son of Rambow is one of the more relatable and fun films that I have had the pleasure of seeing this year. In a lot of ways it reminds me of another film this year, Be Kind Rewind, except the subjects Rambow are really children, while the subjects of Rewind are childish men. Son of Rambow is unique in that truly captures the eagerness of a child to use their imagination and overcome all obstacles to fulfill a dream. Lee Carter and Will are a couple of young dreamers and the part of my brain with stunted development was relating to their antics every step of the way. This is very much worth the purchase.

dodd@movieweb.com