Wes's Grade: D
"Little Boy" an icky sweet mixture of history and faith
"Little Boy" is a big mess of a movie. The movie is an icky combination of faith, history and sentimentality, ringing false at every turn and wasting a terrific cast from a decent director. The movie is about a little boy (newcomer Jakob Salvati) who is willing to do whatever it takes to bring his dad (Michael Rapaport) home from World War II alive and challenging those around him: his family (Emily Watson, David Henrie), his priest (Tom Wilkinson) and his doctor (Kevin James). Directed and co-written by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde ("Bella"), "Little Boy" is a forgettable piece of faith-based historical dreck that has a talented cast and a promising story that is drowned by the preachy tone and sentimentality of it all - in other words you (like me and many who have already seen it) won't buy a bit of what's being sold. Unlike other faith-based films, this one actually has a modest budget and some great actors: Watson, Wilkinson and Rapaport in particular have all done great work before, though neither of them may want to include it on their resume (as for James, the most recognizable name to many because of "The King of Queens" TV show and his awful Sandler movies, I'm unsure what he's even doing in this movie). Among the many things I had a hard time with, is how to correlate being picked on and being taken prisoner of war can relate to each other, and how a little boy and religion can relate to the atomic bomb. Some of the messages can be appreciated, especially its messages of inclusion and friendship, but it comes under a load of sentimentality, as it isn't necessary to pull on the heartstrings at every turn and then throw in a an unnecessary, redundant message about faith. As a believer myself, I can appreciate the message, but dislike how the message is being portrayed. I wish for the sake of the filmmakers, and in this case a terrific cast, that they could find the right message and tone. The unfortunate mess that is "Little Boy" does not and should be skipped.
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