Secondhand Lions (2005, DVD)

I absolutely adored Secondhand Lions. I laughed. I teared up just a bit (though not much). And, the movie was creative and campy enough to be interesting but not annoying. By the time the film was over, I felt like I had been royally entertained.

The show opens with Mae dumping her pre-teen son on the steps of her great uncle s farm in Texas. She says she is off to college, but she is chasing men (again). Plus, she s heard that the old uncles are filthy rich, and she thinks that Walter may locate the loot. In any case, she s ready to be shed of her responsibilities for a while, and when someone feels that way, they really don t care how suitable the space may be where they dump off kids.

The uncles aren t too thrilled as might be imagined. Garth is a rather nerdy guy. Never married. Rather the follower. Hub is his more adventuresome brother. Quite the eccentric. Not really the sort to mother hen a kid.

Poor Walter is out of his element in a rambling old farmhouse and surrounded by dogs and a pig. His Uncle Garth tells him that they don t know much about kids and to just look around if he needs anything. Hub is more to the point and tells the kid to perhaps just do without.

This is not the start one might hope for in building relationships.

As might be expected, the story revolves around the uncles and the nephew learning to respect and then love one another. The unfolding of the story is not so predictable. In fact, the beauty of the movie lies in the telling of the stories. It s part tongue-in-cheek with cheesy scenes ripped from B movies as part of the script. There are some funny cloak and dagger portions reflecting the days when the two brothers were off in Africa on a grand adventure. Garth plays the part of the storyteller, and in good storyteller fashion, he stretches the truth here and there (or perhaps not). It all comes down to, as Hub notes, the importance of fighting fair, loving one woman and believing even when it s near on impossible to do so.

Even as I write about the film, I recognize that this one could have been a train wreck. It works, because the main characters are very real even when in unreal situations. Michael Caine as Garth is a wonderful straight man to the rough and tumble Hub played by Robert Duvall. Duvall seems quite comfortable shooting fish in the pond and sword fighting shadows in the middle of the night. Haley Joel Osment is fabulous as the kid tossed in a bad situation which turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. It feels like he really does grow and find his own way during the course of the film.

I would call this a true family film. It s creative and rich enough to appeal to adults but silly and light enough to be fun for kids. The message is encouraging without being sappy. The whole thing plays like a good homemade biscuit thick and light with enough oil to taste crispy around the edges.