Amusing for adults, a blast and a half for
pre-puberty members of the family, Max Keeble is just
good junior high fun.
Resiliently taking it all in stride, Max (and
friends) absorb typical 6th grader abuse: the school
yard bully, the angry principal, retaliatory ice
cream man, and a looming move out of state. Each
of these "villains" play rather cartoony. Larry
Miller as always nails the dimwitted, egocentric,
greedy, fumbling principal. (He's also very good in
Princess
Diaries.) Noel Fisher covers the leather
jacket, wallet-chain-wearing bully role well too.
The triangle of friends, in contrast to the
buffoony bad guys, hang closer to the kinds of kids
we know (or used to be).
So when Max learns that his family will suddenly
be moving to Chicago, he decides to return a few
transgressions inflicted on himself and his friends.
Ah, the sweet tingles of revenge ("Home Alone"
style). "I don't just have a plan ... I have a
planetarium!!!"
And so begins a three-day extravaganza for which
the bumbling bad guys are just not ready. Eventually,
Max gets more than his original bargain and finds
himself teetering precariously on the brink of a
friendless abyss.
"Any kid can make a mess. It takes man to clean it
up."
Some somewhat stereotypical themes are peppered
tastefully with carefully shot fun, good acting, and
a strong sound track that accentuates the folly.
I simply love the scene where the school's sexy
science teacher strolls across the classroom setting
each Bunsen burner a light as she passes, simply
because she is perceived to be the "hottest" teacher
in the school.
Coincidentally, Alex D. Linz and Zena Grey (Max
Keeble and best friend Megan) enjoyed my particular
screening from the front row. As the credits rolled,
they stood up and boogied to the soundtrack. A good
time, take the kids.
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