Channeling the spirit of John Hughes and playing like a tween version of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life delivers an easily digestible and amusing portrait of youthful hijinks.
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
Rules aren't for everyone.
2016 · 1h 32m · PG Comedy, Family
Overview
A quiet teenage artist Rafe Katchadorian has a wild imagination and is sick of middle school and the rules that have been put before him. Rafe and his best friend Leo have come up with a plan: break every rule in the school hand book and as you expect trouble follows.
Director and cast
- Griffin Gluck as Rafe Khatchadorian
- Lauren Graham as Jules Khatchadorian
- Alexa Nisenson as Georgia Khatchadorian
- Andy Daly as Principal Dwight
- Thomas Barbusca as Leo Khatchadorian
- Rob Riggle as Bear
- Isabela Merced as Jeanne Galletta
- Retta as Ida Stricker
- Adam Pally as Mr. Teller
- Luke Hardeman as Shon
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Throw in some tacked-on anti-standardized-tests speeches and a late-in-the-game reveal about a death in the family, and you've got a movie that's constantly zigging and zagging emotionally without a skilled hand at the wheel.
Though its title and general tone lament the stifling atmosphere of the years between childhood and full-fledged teenhood, the movie misses the animal hostility and physical awkwardness of genuine tweens.
Ironically, Middle School's message is about encouraging kids and grown-ups to think outside the box and yet, the filmmakers themselves do precisely the opposite.
Despite a cringe-worthy gaffe with regards to the Wu-Tang Clan's geographical origins, "Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life" is harmless fun with a trace of anarchy in its DNA.
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