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Movies / On DVD / Son of Rambow
Son of Rambow

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Son of Rambow (2008)

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Reviews Counted:115

Fresh:85

Rotten:30

Average Rating:6.8/10

Consensus: Undeniable heart and charming young leads save the film's nostalgic storyline from suffering at the hands predictability.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:May 2, 2008 Limited

Box Office: $1,612,881

Synopsis: Writer-director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith, who as Hammer & Tongs have made music videos for such groups as Fatboy Slim, Supergrass, Blur, and REM, follow up their 2005 film, THE... Writer-director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith, who as Hammer & Tongs have made music videos for such groups as Fatboy Slim, Supergrass, Blur, and REM, follow up their 2005 film, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, with the charming indie SON OF RAMBOW, a love letter to the movies. A success at such festivals as Toronto and Sundance, SON OF RAMBOW stars Bill Milner as Will Proudfoot, a shy, reserved young boy who is different from the other kids because his family is part of the Brethren, a religion that shuns the outside world, not allowing him to have friends at school or to watch television. While in the hallway in school one day because he can't watch an educational film in class, Will gets into a fight with Lee Carter (Will Poulter), a tough kid who gets into trouble all the time. Lee forces Will to help him make a homemade version of the Sylvester Stallone film FIRST BLOOD, but after watching the original, Will is captivated by the movie and writes his own sequel, casting himself as the son of Rambow (he misspells the name of the character). Will and Lee use their imagination and lots of grit to get the project off the ground, bonding as only blood brothers can. But soon the entire school wants to participate in the movie, including ultra-cool French exchange student Didier Revol (Jules Sitruk), jeopardizing the integrity of the production as well as Will and Lee's growing friendship. Milner and Poulter, both making their feature-film debuts, are engaging as the lead characters. Jennings sets SON OF RAMBOW in the 1980s, before cell phones, digital cameras, and YouTube changed the way people communicate. Amid a soundtrack that includes music from such seminal period bands as The Cure and Depeche Mode, the two young boys learn about family and friendship, jealousy and ego as their carefully controlled worlds threaten to implode. [More]

Starring: Will Poulter, Bill Milner, Jules Sitruck, Charlie Thrift

Starring: Will Poulter, Bill Milner, Jules Sitruck, Charlie Thrift, Jessica Stevenson, Neil Dudgeon

Director: Garth Jennings

Director: Garth Jennings
Screenwriter: Garth Jennings
Producer: Nick Goldsmith
Composer: Joby Talbot
Studio: Paramount Vantage

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Release:

Aug 26, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Full Frame - 1.33
  • Letterbox - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital - English

Additional Release Material:

Featurette:

  • 1. Boys Will Be Boys: The Making of Son of Rambow
  • 2. Son of Rambow Website Winner

Audio Commentary:

  • 1. Commentary with Director Garth Jennings, Producer Nick Goldsmith, Bill Milner and Will Poulter

Shorts:

  • 1. Garth's Short Film "Aron"
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Son of Rambow

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Son of Rambow conveys the passion and imagination of these kids... But what the film also does is to place their fantasies in a very real context.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
05/19/08
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

Garth Jennings, has crafted a small, indie film that - dare I say it? Should I say it? Why not? Is "This Year's Juno."

Full Review Source: Eclipse Magazine | comment Comment
05/09/08
Michelle Alexandria
Michelle Alexandria
Eclipse Magazine

Although Jennings' screenplay skirts the edges of cliché at times, the young actors (both of whom are making their feature film debut) make every moment ring true.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
04/15/08
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

Flatly ignores any kind of joy-of-filmmaking themes and instead takes the standard coming-of-age route.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/08/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Writer/director Garth Jennings captures the innocent ecstasy of boys discovering the elemental power of cinema and the unfettered play of imagination with disarming humor.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
05/08/08
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A funny, worthy film that -- unlike Sylvester Stallone's one-man army -- loses focus before it completes its mission.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
05/23/08
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

The tone is light and unpretentious and it offers an opportunity for some '80s reminiscing. Ultimately, however, it's forgettable, disposable entertainment.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
04/29/08
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The word is that even Sly Stallone gave this film a blessing, marking one of the few times that the guy involved with the likes of Judge Dredd and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot has displayed a modicum of good taste.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
05/28/08
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

A tedious movie about kids making an amateur film.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
05/02/08
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

It’s an absolute delight.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
05/09/08
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What could have been an insightful look at how film and television mold our personalities is instead just another film about childhood friendship -- sweet, huggable and toothless.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
05/23/08
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

Son of Rambow is pumped up with all the right kids' ingredients: slapstick, fantasy, alienation and severe adult authority figures. But screenwriter and director Garth Jennings has slammed them all together with little cohesion.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
01/26/07
Duane Byrge
Duane Byrge
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There lies a huge, beating heart that leads to a crescendo of joviality so flawlessly accomplished that your mental applause sign may light up before its all over.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
01/30/07
Erik Childress
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com

For a film about falling in love with the movies, its insights on them are next to nil.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
05/02/08
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...much more than a kids' film and should appeal to those who grew up during the 1980's. The good nature of the film will strike a chord with other auds, both older and younger, too.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
05/05/08
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

A bright and very silly film with solid, provocative themes that really stick with us.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
05/03/08
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Few movies have captured the intoxicating effect of pop culture on kids better than Son of Rambow.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
05/09/08
Stephen Cole
Stephen Cole
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A joyous, touching story of friendship, mischief and imagination.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
05/09/08
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A number of young boys attended the screening I went to, and none of them seemed to be quite sure when they were supposed to laugh.

Full Review Source: The Cinema Source | comment Comment
06/03/08
Michael Dance
Michael Dance
The Cinema Source

A likable, lightly sticky valentine to childhood.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/02/08
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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