Harold (2008)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

T. Sean Shannon

Writers (WGA):

T. Sean Shannon (written by) &
Greg Fields (written by)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A teenager with an early onset of male-pattern baldness befriends his high school's janitor. |

Plot Keywords:

High School | Janitor | Stripper | Friendship Between Men | Reference To Lindsay Lohan

Cast

Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Cromer
Spencer Breslin	...	Harold
Ally Sheedy	...	Maureen
Stella Maeve	...	Shelly
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dave Attell	...	Barker
Charlene Biton	...	Dancer
Joey Blonsky	...	Malcolm
Nikki Blonsky	...	Rhonda
Meredith Anne Bull	...	Belinda
Rachel Dratch	...	Ms. Norris
Daniel Farcher	...	Brad
Michelle Fields
Samantha Futerman	...	Katy
Edward Gelbinovich	...	James
Elizabeth Gillies	...	Evelyn Taylor
Robert Gorrie	...	Patrick
Christina Jackson	...	Traci
Erika J.	...	Bartender
Nicky Katt	...	Police officer #1
Chris Margaritis	...	Prisoner
Julian Mazzola	...	The Kid
Lorraine Mazzola	...	Ms. Colage
Lathan McKay	...	Cop #2
Judy Nazemetz	...	Nurse
Derek Nelson	...	Mason
Chris Parnell	...	Coach Vanderpool
Nicola Peltz	...	Becki
Sarge Pickman	...	Alibi Club Patron
Colin Quinn	...	Reedy
Newman Sakhi	...	Jugdish
Bob Sands	...	Slinky
Pat Shannon	...	Rhonda's Dad
Suzanne Shepherd	...	Maude
Angel Sing	...	Chang
Dylan Snyder	...	Dylan
Jake Sokoloff	...	Byron
Wass Stevens	...	Prisoner
Paul Thornton	...	Mr. Kahane
Lou Wagner
Jillian Wiegand	...	Beautiful Waitress
William Wiggins	...	Vince
Fred Willard	...	Dr. Pratt

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language and teen drinking.

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Great Neck North Middle School, Great Neck, Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

Blue Star Pictures

Movie Connections:

References "Matlock" (1986)

Harold

When I first saw the cover for Harold in my video store, I didn't really know what to expect. I figured the story of a 13 year old suffering with baldness would make for a quirky night's viewing. However, there was one thing that set me back from wanting to see it: Spencer Breslin. Spencer Breslin is by far the worst child actor that has ever had the misfortune of gracing our screens. But was he the same here? Surprisingly, quite the opposite. In fact, Spencer fit the role of Harold like a glove, I couldn't imagine anyone else playing him. The character of Harold would be a difficult one to portray believably but Spencer was able to make him a very memorable character and I now gain some respect for him for that.

Harold is the story of, as I said before, a 13 year old kid suffering from premature baldness. He is forced to move to a new town and deal with the constant torment and ridicule from his newfound peers. You see, playing on the middle-aged theory of baldness, Harold also acts like it as well, going far beyond the maturity of even most 40 year olds. Besides eating liver and onions and watching Murder, She Wrote, he is also well-known for retiring to his favourite armchair to read the paper. Unfortunately, he has to put up with an aggressive and overbearing mother and a superficial, dimwitted sister. However, the school's janitor, Cromer, takes a shine to Harold and the two become good friends with Cromer acting as a mentor to Harold. However, Harold must first try and survive the pratfalls that would come with being a teenager with male-pattern baldness.

This film constantly reminded me of Better Off Dead throughout the entire thing. Maybe it might have been the quirkiness of both or the cool and collected flow that they take but this film certainly did embody the essence of this and many other 80's teen films. Many probably see a slight Napoleon Dynamite influence as well, I figure it to be a mixture between both Better Off Dead and Napoleon Dynamite.

It is far from perfect and could use some more quality acting from supporting players, especially Daniel Farcher as school bully Brad, rather than just stereotypes but it seems like a the type of film that wouldn't need to be improved. This may be because everyone else is so one-dimeniosal, it makes Harold really stand out even more than he should. I did find it hard to adjust seeing Chris Parnell as the pompous asshole of a gym teacher though. Cuba Gooding Jr, on the other hand, is fantastic as the apathetic and conniving janitor. But all in all, this is not the best film I've ever seen but a enjoyable romp with a few genuinely funny bits scattered throughout.