MEAN CREEK
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
In Jacob Aaron Estes's MEAN CREEK, a tale of good kids who go astray, Sam (Rory Culkin, SIGNS) is an eighth grader about to go on his first date with a cute and innocent-looking blonde named Millie (Carly Schroeder, THE LIZZIE MCGUIRE MOVIE). They act like they've been good friends for a long time. She is excited about the event, writing down trite little questions like, "What is it like to be male?" that she plans on asking him to pass the time.
Although Sam's young love life is starting off promisingly, at school he is tormented by George (Josh Peck), a fat and dyslexic bully who has been held back twice at school, so that he is older and larger than his classmates. Not really a bad kid, George is just one who picks on others as a way to gain attention. He has an intense desire to be liked and to be noticed, but he doesn't have much of a clue as to how to navigate the treacherous waters of the middle school social scene.
Sam's high school age brother, Rocky (Trevor Morgan), and Rocky's two friends, Marty (Scott Mechlowicz, EUROTRIP) and Clyde (Ryan Kelley), decide to take care of Sam's problem by giving "Georgie Porgie a taste of his own medicine," during a dangerous game of "Truth or Dare" on a river outing. As you can guess, things go tragically wrong during this would-be harmless harassment. What gives the story its power is the genuine emotions expressed by all of the kids before and after the tragedy. The story touches us on a personal level because it is so easy to identify with each of the characters, who all possess something that is in us all. It's a depressing story, but a good one. And one with some good lessons that are told simply and honestly without a single preachy moment.
MEAN CREEK runs 1:27. It is rated R for "language, sexual references, teen drug and alcohol use" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, August 27, 2004. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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