Wild America (DVD, 2008)

The story line is OK, the characters are pretty interesting and the wildlife filmed is totally awesome. I was disappointed with the language. This was one of those movies that didn't have to be dirty but it was, and that was disappointing. They didn't actually show anything but insinuated a lot.

On the positive side, Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Marshall) is never a disappointment, ever, ever...and this is no exception. Here he is the brunt of his older brothers' creative movie making times a thousand. But he is the smart one and manages to get the upper hand many times along the way. Older brother Scott Bairstow (Marty) is a totally believable character, a wild Arkansas boy that develops a major interest in filming wild animals. The wilder the better. Devon Sawa play the middle brother (Mark). The character is probably the wildest of the three. However I have seen Sawa in a much better role and this casting of him as Mark didn't fit very well it seemed to me. But that aside, the lessons learned, the family ties that were built through lots of hard knocks, literally, during this film and the outcomes leave you feeling as if despite its turns down the darker side of the trail at times, it might have actually had some redeeming value after all on the human side. But now let me tell you, on the animal side, you will never, ever see better wildlife pictures, some funny, some just out of this world beautiful. And of course that's what this movie is supposed to be all about...these are the real wild animal movie makers and how they got started. So with that in mind, keep your thumb read on the mute button because this is raw Arkansas street language in all its infamous glory and just watch the kids growing up and the awesome animals and American countryside. If I were going to watch this again, I would do it with the sound off and just enjoy that about it. As far as movies in general go I've see a lot better stories and a lot better entertainment but I would rate it on the very top as far as animal photography and two of the three main characters did a pretty good job of acting, I'll give them that, Marty and Marshall. I wouldn't under any circumstances show this young teens with the language that's there and the suggestive content. Overall I'd give it an "average" score.