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How to Beat a Bully
USA 2015
produced by Paul Rocha, Sofia Monroe, Robert Franklin Dudelson (executive), Stephen Langford (executive), Marilyn Anderson (executive), Jackeline Olivier (executive), Wes Anderson (executive) for Dream Factory Entertainment
directed by Doug Bilitch
starring Grant McLellan, Eric Lauritzen, Elise Angell, Ian Tucker, Bryan Yoshi Brown, Kade Pait, Vince Donvito, Micah Lyons, Griffen Beebe, Robert E. Weiner, Kenn Schmidt, Ed Dyer, Pamela Munro, Amy Lyndon, Pearce Joza, Kim Hamilton, Stanley Brown, Dan Glenn, John Combs, Matt Masella, Marilyn Anderson, Richard Rossner, Jackeline Olivier
written by Marilyn Anderson, Richard Rossner, music by Misha Segal, songs by Reverse Order, Rudiger
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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12 year old Cory's (Grant McLellan) family has just moved from New
Jersey to California, and he couldn't be less happy about it, being pushed
into a whole new enviroment, just because his father Joe (Eric Lauritzen)
has lost his job back East and now puts his modest professional
aspirations over his son's well-being. But things get a lot worse on the
first day of school, when Cory becomes the target of a group of bullies
led by yound Darryl (Ian Tucker). Being all on his own and not especially
threatening in built, Cory hasn't got much to fall on to defend himself,
and whenever he tries to bring this topic up with dad and mum (Elise
Angell), they are unable to see the problem and just suggest he ought to
respond with kindness and stuff like that. He tries, but soon has to
realize it gets him nowhere. But he does realize that he can't beat the
bullies with actions, so he has to beat them with words - and after seeing
a mafia flick, he finds the right language for his foes in school: Mob
talk. And since Cory's good at making up stories, and he has his father
backing them up rather accidently and without knowing what his son's going
for, Cory's the mightiest man in school in no time. But even if he tries
to use his powers for good (like to prevent bullying others too), soon the
story spreads, and soon everybody in town believes he's a mafia hitman. Of
course, he really is a insurance salesman, but where's the difference,
both offer protection. However, things really get out of control when Joe
is hired by two mobsters (Vince Donvito, Micah Lyons) to take out an
associate of theirs (Ed Dyer) who might be a risk to the family, believing
Joe to be an actual hitman ... and of course, the situation soon gets out
of hand, and Joe's real (harmless) identity is found out - and it's up to
Cory to save him, a 12 year old who pretended to be a Mafia don ... How
to Beat a Bully proves to be a very entertaining movie for the whole
family - because it doesn't try to hard. Oh, don't get me wrong there, it
does most certainly go for quality, but it doesn't give its last shirt
just to be squeaky clean family entertainment, instead it tells a fun
story that borrows from many genres (first and foremost the gangster flick
of course), does feature some off-beat situations and colourful
characters, and tries way harder to just be good entertainment than
deliver a wholesome message (though that's there somewhere as well). And
thanks to a direction that's subtle enough and a solid ensemble cast
featuring many a great character actor, this one's really loads of fun!!!
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