2008 Woodie Awards
You don't want Rambo, you want his son
By: Tatiana Craine, Associate Arts Editor
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: The Arts
I want a charming boy. If possible, I'd like an artsy, creative boy who's eager to show the world what he's got. I wouldn't mind if he's adventurous and mucks around in the woods. I'd dig it if he had some worldly friends. And it would be bloody marvelous if he had a British accent.
Fortunately enough, I found two boys who fit this personal ad quite well. They are, hands down, the cutest boys in the entire world. The problem is that they're much too young for me. And it doesn't help that they're characters from a film.
Drat.
However, I'm willing to put aside their fictiveness and love them anyways. Why? Because they are part of the best film I have seen in 2008. Yes, I went there. I said it. I know it's a hefty statement. And until you see this movie, you might think I'm crazy for believing in its quirky brilliance.
A plot summary wouldn't do this film any justice. It's necessary though. With a title like "Son of Rambow," just what are you supposed to expect?
Let's imagine my two little dream boys (this would be okay if I were 12) in their world. It's the 1980s. It's Britain. If you and I were conversing casually, I'd say, "Enough said," at this point, but we're not, and I definitely have not said enough about this gem of a film. The boys, Will Proudfoot and Lee Carter, are average adolescent kids. Will comes from a very, very religious family (forbidden to watch television or listen to music) and Lee from a semi-neglectful but rich household. They're on opposite ends of the preteen social spectrum. A run-in with the school administration leads Lee to cast Will as the stuntman in his film contest submission. It sounds a little wonky, I know. Go with it. The film submission? "Son of Rambow." See, Lee's older brother sent him to bootleg the real "Rambo" in a theater - overly-large camera and everything. Since then, Lee has obsessed about "Rambo" and the upcoming film contest. He succeeds in dragging Will along for this crazy charade, basing the film off of "Rambo." Eventually, some neighborhood kids get wind of this scheme and they get involved too. Add a somewhat gender-ambiguous Frenchman and some wicked 80s punk fashion, and you've got "Son of Rambow."
Fortunately enough, I found two boys who fit this personal ad quite well. They are, hands down, the cutest boys in the entire world. The problem is that they're much too young for me. And it doesn't help that they're characters from a film.
Drat.
However, I'm willing to put aside their fictiveness and love them anyways. Why? Because they are part of the best film I have seen in 2008. Yes, I went there. I said it. I know it's a hefty statement. And until you see this movie, you might think I'm crazy for believing in its quirky brilliance.
A plot summary wouldn't do this film any justice. It's necessary though. With a title like "Son of Rambow," just what are you supposed to expect?
Let's imagine my two little dream boys (this would be okay if I were 12) in their world. It's the 1980s. It's Britain. If you and I were conversing casually, I'd say, "Enough said," at this point, but we're not, and I definitely have not said enough about this gem of a film. The boys, Will Proudfoot and Lee Carter, are average adolescent kids. Will comes from a very, very religious family (forbidden to watch television or listen to music) and Lee from a semi-neglectful but rich household. They're on opposite ends of the preteen social spectrum. A run-in with the school administration leads Lee to cast Will as the stuntman in his film contest submission. It sounds a little wonky, I know. Go with it. The film submission? "Son of Rambow." See, Lee's older brother sent him to bootleg the real "Rambo" in a theater - overly-large camera and everything. Since then, Lee has obsessed about "Rambo" and the upcoming film contest. He succeeds in dragging Will along for this crazy charade, basing the film off of "Rambo." Eventually, some neighborhood kids get wind of this scheme and they get involved too. Add a somewhat gender-ambiguous Frenchman and some wicked 80s punk fashion, and you've got "Son of Rambow."
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