Plot: What’s it about?
A touching story of two teenage boys who come to depend on each other. Max, (Kieran Culkin) with a high I.Q. but small for his age and suffering from a crippling disease and Kevin, (Elden Henson) the size of a wrestler but not too bright upstairs. Both suffer the ridicule and stares of others but together…with Max on Kevin’s shoulders…they learn to triumph over adversity with the help of some fantasy provided by King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Max’s father left when he found out about his son’s birth defects, leaving Max to be raised by his mom (Sharon Stone). Kevin lives with his grandparents, Gena Rowlands and Harry Dean Stanton (Repo Man) who do the best they can. The boys fight neighborhood bullies and see many interesting things they never would have by themselves but there friendship is put to the test when Kevin is put in extreme danger and Max sets out to rescue him.
You can sit down with the family and everyone will enjoy and be touched by it. When two outsiders, especially kids overcome life’s hardships its hard not to cheer. On the cover of the DVD there is a quote “Sharon Stone gives an Oscar-Worthy performance”…I don’t think so. She does a good job as the loving and overprotective mother but Max and Kevin do most of the work. Kieran Culkin (Max) is much better than his annoying brother…no wonder his family left him Home Alone… and does good job with a difficult character.
Video: How does it look?
Widescreen only. The story of these two kids was distracting and if there were any drawbacks to the video portion of this DVD I missed them…it would be hard not to like this movie.
Audio: How does it sound?
Dolby Digital comes through again with clear dialogue in the center and some good music from all channels. Sting…anybody know his real name…sings the main theme and is also heard through the credits. When the Miramax logo appears before the movie starts there is a gut check for your subwoofer…the walls should shake and rumble…don’t be alarmed.
Supplements: What are the extras?
A couple of featurettes but that’s about it.
