Movie Info

RATING:

PG for thematic material, language, and action violence

GENRE:

Drama

DIRECTOR:

Tim McCanlies

WRITER:

Tim McCanlies

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:

David Kirschner

STARRING:

Academy Award winner Michael Caine as "Garth" (Austin Powers: Goldmember, 2002; Miss Congeniality, 2000; The Cider House Rules, 1999)

Academy Award winner Robert Duvall as "Hub" (Gods and Generals, 2003; The Apostle, 1998)

Academy Award nominee Haley Joel Osment as "Walter" (A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, 2001; Pay It Forward, 2000; The Sixth Sense, 1999)

Golden Globe nominee Kyra Sedgwick as "Mae" (Behind the Red Door, 2003; Phenomenon, 1996; Born on the Fourth of July, 1989)

DISTRIBUTOR:

New Line Cinema

Secondhand Lions Official Web site

 

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MOVIE REVIEW

Secondhand Lions

By Laura Bagby
CBN.com Producer

What's This?

Tender, young Walter (Osment) is nervous about spending the summer with his two eccentric great-uncles who he hardly knows, Garth (Caine) and Hub (Duvall), on their desolate Texas ranch. Walter's irresponsible and untrustworthy mother, Mae (Sedgwick), tells Walter that she will be enrolling in college to study court reporting and will be back to get him in a couple of months.

Faced with two hardened, gruff men as his caretakers who don't believe in owning telephones or television sets, Walter seems destined for a boring and lonely summer. Day in and day out, Walter's crotchety, gun-toting great-uncles sit on their rustic porch of their rundown Victorian-style farmhouse and scare away traveling salesmen who get word of the pair's family fortune.

But then as Walter befriends Garth and hears exotic tales of his two great-uncles when they were young and discovers that the family fortune might be stolen mafia money, the scene quickly gets exciting. Walter must decide whether to believe in and trust his uncles, though their stories are outlandish and their care-taking skills dubious, or believe the outside world, including his mother, who see the two great-uncles as fortune-seeking criminals.

Walter ultimately learns what it means to stand up and be a man in the face of incredible odds.In the process, Garth and Hub also learn that they have a second chance at life and another opportunity to make their lives count for something greater than themselves.

MY TAKE:

I highly recommend this warmhearted, coming-of-age drama for several reasons.

First, it is worth it just to enjoy the stellar performances. Michael Caine and Robert Duvall are brilliantly paired as the two comedians of the show. Michael Caine redoes himself as a believable small-town diehard Texan, complete with Southern drawl and cowboy hat. Robert Duvall does a fantastic job of bringing out the gruff-yet-loveable side of Hub and making him out to be a strong hero and father figure. Haley Joel Osment is engaging and endearing as the introverted and sympathetic Walter.

Second, the film contains no sex, and the violence is not gratuitous or graphic. This is good news for parents. However, there is some foul language. Fortunately, it isn't excessive and tries to steer clear of anything seriously grotesque or blasphemous, a fact that should put parents once again at ease. Chivalry, bravery, faith, true love, and the importance of brotherhood are values upheld in this film, as is living life to the fullest.

This film is well worth the ticket price and one destined to be slated for next year's Academy Awards ballot. Don't miss it!