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09/13/03
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The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003)
44
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Reviews Counted:55
Fresh:24
Rotten:31
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: LaBeouf is appealing, but The Battle of Shaker Heights feels too watered down and disjointed.
Theatrical Release:Aug 22, 2003 Limited
Box Office: $214,176
Synopsis: With a team of strong actors, a hilarious script by Erica Beeney, and an evocative soundtrack, directing duo Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin have hit the nail on the head with THE BATTLE OF SHAKER... [More]
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Kathleen Quinlan, Amy Smart, William Sadler
Director: Efram Potelle, Kyle Rankin
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Reviews for The Battle of Shaker Heights
[Potelle and Rankin] were set up to fail. And so they failed.
09/06/03
The movie was not great, but not Ishtar.
09/05/03
There's no emotional pay-off to The Battle of Shaker Heights, which doesn't so much end as trail off into the credits.
09/05/03
Project Greenlight's second "winner" is more like a second strike ... and not a ringing endorsement for contest-based filmmaking.
09/04/03
It probably seemed like a good idea at the time.
09/03/03
Perfectly enjoyable without being remarkable, a solid endeavor by a first-time writer and rookie directing team.
09/03/03
It's too much going on, but I think that as was the case with Stolen Summer, the actors rise above the material and make it worth seeing.
09/02/03
Top CriticDownright enjoyable.
08/31/03
If there is a delicate story of forgiveness, friendship and family buried somewhere in Erica Beeney's script, Potelle and Rankin haven't managed to find it under the throes of empty rebellion and painless triumph.
08/30/03
An inoffensive, if somewhat bedraggled, little movie.
08/29/03
Top CriticIt's simply an indie-film aping of Hollywood teen-mongering at its ultimate worst.
08/29/03
Top CriticIt's an insufferable piffle.
08/29/03
Top CriticIt feels put together by committee -- which, apparently, it was.
08/29/03
The movie is bad in a boring way: tepidly paced, disjointed and lacking any emotional hook.
08/29/03
Top CriticYou get the sense of too much input, too many bright ideas, too many scenes that don't belong in the same movie.
08/29/03
Top CriticIt's a very minor Catcher in the Rye, featuring clever but overcooked dialogue, two-dimensional supporting roles, and a disarming generosity toward its characters.
08/29/03
The story is original, the direction looks professional, and Shia LaBeouf really comes through - this is definitely his movie.
08/29/03
Though slight and rather frail, it's still modestly entertaining...and LaBeouf is well worth watching throughout.
08/29/03
As putatively quirky coming-of-age movies go, this one feels factory-tooled -- and fake.
08/28/03
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