Clifford Peach, an easygoing teenager, is finding less than easy to fit in at his new high school, where a tough-talking bully terrorizes his classmates and extorts their lunch money. Refusing to pay up, Clifford enlist the aid of an overgrown misfit whose mere presence intimidates students and teachers alike. But their "business relationship" soon turns personal as Clifford and the troubled loner forge a winning alliance against their intimidators - and a very special friendship with each other.
A sweet little movie about characters who really seem to be people, and that sort of verisimilitude is rarer than it ought to be nowadays.
– Janet Maslin,
New York Times,
30 Aug 2004
fresh:
This movie is fun to watch because it touches memories that are shared by most of us, and because its young characters are recognizable individuals, and not simplified cartoon figures like so many movie teen-agers.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
23 Oct 2004
rotten:
The message that accompanies the central theme -- Kids are basically Nice -- is that Brute Force Rules.
– Derek Adams,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
rotten:
A film of ingredients, rather than ideas realized and integrated: it panders on different, disjunctive levels.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
24 Jul 2007
fresh:
In his directorial debut, Tony Bill assembles a truly remarkable cast of youngsters with little or no previous acting experience.