SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - Two 11-year-olds make a film together, sealing their friendship with blood and producing carnage with ketchup, in “Son of Rambow,” a rough-and-ready action flick within a slice-of-boyhood comedy set on a memory wave of 1980s movie joy. Cute but contrived, the film contains vitality and likability to spare, but it doesn’t have the impact or the originality necessary to achieve the indie-gem status it seeks.

Delivering none of the bleakness and social criticism often found in fare set in post-industrial Britain, writer-director Garth Jennings (“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”) has made a boy-buddy comedy and a nostalgic, goofy salute to cinema.

Familiar elements — the do- it-yourself foolery of “Be Kind Rewind” and fantasy-life bits recalling “Heavenly Creatures” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” — mix with Jennings’ own quirky ingredients.

Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner), whose puritanical religion forbids TV and movie viewing, meets Lee Carter (Will Poulter), a bully aiming to enter a filmmaking contest, in the school hallway where Will waits until his teacher’s video presentation finishes and where Lee does time for making trouble.

The fatherless outcasts bond, and Lee, via a bootleg video of “Rambo: First Blood,” starring a grunting Sylvester Stallone, introduces Will to movies.

Wowed and exploding with imagination, Will proclaims himself “Son of Rambo” and advances from stuntman to leading man as the two elatedly film their flick. But when a cool French exchange student (Jules Soitruk) comes aboard, everything changes.

Jennings displays a bent for creating gently off-kilter atmospheres and character dynamics.

The Will-Lee relationship is sweetly off-the-wall and believably depicts 11-year-old mentalities. Newcomers Poulter and Milner are natural and convincing.

Recalling “Truly Madly Deeply,” which presented the afterlife as a place where denizens watch videos all day, the film captures the pleasure of movies and home viewing. It has amusing fun with 1980s entertainment; “Rambo” comes off as cult-level kitsch.

But Jennings hasn’t crafted much of a story. His reliance on movie- shoot material — running; leaping; flying; war paint — for dramatic thrust fizzles.

The supporting characters, including Lee’s brutish older brother (Ed Westwick) and the church official (Neil Dudgeon) who wants Will’s devout mother (Jessica Stevenson) to quash Will’s independent streak, are one-note.

Consequently, the movie sags midway and doesn’t regain steam until the ending, which is too predictable and sentimental to save things.

All totaled, the film contains enough merit to qualify as art-house sweetmeat, but it could have been a serious charmer.

Credits

Son of Rambow (two and a half stars)

Starring Bill Milner, Will Poulter, Jules Soitruk, Jessica Stevenson

Written and directed by Garth Jennings

Rated PG-13

Running time 1 hour 36 minutes

Comments from Examiner Readers

12:00 PM MST on Mon., May. 5, 2008 re: "Review: Terrorism enters stoned age"

Examiner Reader said:
Pretty spot-on review, but critics (even Asian Ameircan critics, who are falling over themselves to celebrate the fact that Asians are starring in a mainstream hit movie without being, well, you know, ASIAN) including Examiner's are missing he huge red flag od sexism that permrates both ,ovies but this one even more so. Yeah, so that's part and parcel of the juvenile, hormone-drenched guy genre, but it doesn't excuse the over-the-top nature of this movie's juvenalia. It almsot negates both the empowring of Asian Americans AND the bits of smart political commentary casually tossed off throughout the dialogue. And BTW, Rossiter, there are no hyphens in "Indian American" and "Korean American."

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5:18 PM MST on Fri., Apr. 18, 2008 re: "Review: �Nights� can leave you feeling blue"

Melisa said:
The movie was alright - I enjoyed all the cinematic imagery, but I esp. loved the music in the film. I just bought the soundtrack and I can't stop listening to it - really great!

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8:44 PM MST on Thu., Feb. 14, 2008 re: "Review: Caught in the net of 'Spiderwick�"

Examiner Reader said:
I read the books and I am an adult female that enjoys a good fantasy book without romance in it. Yes, the books are a bit different, but the story line moved quite well even though it was much different from the books. Well done. My whole family watched it and it was entertaining to us.

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6:38 PM MST on Tue., Nov. 20, 2007 re: "Review: �Lions for Lambs� more like medicine than a movie"

mandela said:
"Lions for lambs" is a colossal bore.

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1:26 PM MST on Fri., Oct. 12, 2007 re: "Stinks ahoy: �Pirates� a three-hour wreck"

Examiner Reader said:
Pirates of the Caribbean(all 3)have to be the best movies i have ever seen. This is an extremely harsh review of a completely AWEsome movie! I mean come on there had to be something this reviewer liked about it.

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1:30 PM MST on Sun., Sep. 2, 2007 re: "Stinks ahoy: �Pirates� a three-hour wreck"

Examiner Reader said:
RE: POTC3 - I found it to be highly entertaining-which is what a movie is supposed to be! Hey, some liked it, some didn't - so what? Johnny Depp made all 3 movies fun to watch (he IS very easy on the eyes)! A lot of people loved it - hence its popularity. Fantasy pictures are fun - much needed in today's world. There are many "serious" movies with plots so convoluted a person would leave the theater confused. With POTC a person could leave the theater laughing (hang the plots) and wanting more. I think sometimes even critics don't know what they want in a movie. But, you can bet your bottom dollar that if there's a POTC4 it'll be a hit - again, hang the "plots", bring on the characters and the FUN! And if the first 3 didn't float your boat then stay home!

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3:18 PM MST on Sun., Jul. 1, 2007 re: "Unbalanced, powerful �Sicko� a movie that matters"

Examiner Reader said:
I agree with Sally Kline's assessment of Michael Moore's documentary... the film left me thoroughly disgusted with the American healthcare system and disenchanted with the ways my fellow citizens and our policy makers are influenced by the almighty dollar. It's sad and pathetic, and no solution seems in sight...

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2:23 PM MST on Mon., May. 28, 2007 re: "Stinks ahoy: �Pirates� a three-hour wreck"

Jackie said:
I love4 you Johnny and please make more films with you as the pirate I think you are the greattest

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