Standing Up

source: Standing Up

Looking for something a bit different I found this on Netflix streaming movies. Clean and interesting. The setting is summer camp, filmed in Georgia. There is a history at this camp, bullies will take a target kid to a small island in the lake, called "Goat Island", them strip them and abandon them. In this story we have two campers who get stranded at the same time, a boy Chandler Canterbury, probably about 12 during filming, as Howie, and a girl Annalise Basso, about the same age, as Grace. Both of them wear glasses and get picked on by the older kids. Grace is almost hiding, shivering, wondering what to do, but Howie is different, he encounters her and right away devises a plan to get off the island and take a hike through the woods. Grace can't swim so he gets a large dry tree branch to act as a float for her and off they go. More than anything this is a coming of age story for the two kids, forced to use their wits to get down the road, to find something to wear, something to eat, places to sleep. Through the experience they become best of friends, and eventually picked up by parents. SPOILERS: It turns out Howie was an orphan, he had a rough young life and didn't look forward to going back there. He and Grace kept in contact, she got a letter that he was adopted by a nice family, it seems things are turning out well for both of them.

Two virtues, both same precious, are the motives, basic motives to see this film time by time. The first - lovely acting of the lead young actors. The second - wise crafted story and the force of each scene. Not the last - the status of part, as real fact or as product of imagination, from the universe of viewer. A summer camp, two bullied kids, their radical decision, parents and the wisdome of childhood in perfect light. Short, just great.

The film was overall positive, and it is rare to find a film like this. Bullying is very common in films and some were claimed to be exaggerated, but we all know what was real. This film told a story of two "goats", as they referred the chosen pairs who were left on the island, who together take an escape from the terrible trap. The kids are clever and daring--the boy, Howie, I reckon he is supposed to be raised by a couple of scientists or at least a parent who will think neatly, like making a list of things they should replace--but I like how they made them still kids, innocent and easy to be afraid and anxious. They have begun to think and behave like adults, they take actions to survive like grown-ups, but in the end they are still kids. It makes me wonder how quick kids grow up nowadays. It might be not clear in the films, but I reckon it reflects how graphic romantic acts shown all over the place- -public place, on TV--have an impact toward younger kids. There is a groping and kissing scene in the film that I should say inappropriate, but sadly, I have witnessed a lot of things more inappropriate than that in daily life. It requires more effort if you watch this with kids. There are things they will not understand. The film also shows that there are place where kids are safe from bullies. I prefer the film watched by grown-ups, not children. I reckon it is like the famous Japanese cartoon series "Crayon Shin-chan", supposed to be a satiric show towards parents. This film, like a lot of films had suggested time after time, I think, tries to say to parents: listen to your kids, talk to them, make them comfortable to share the truth with you, that way you can protect them.

I have published three books on the roles of teenagers in movies, and I can say with confidence that few of them depict early adolescence as delicately as this film. Some viewers may find it too delicate in that regard-- there's little violence and no sex, no drugs or drinking, no insanity-- yet it shows the calculated anxiety that teens deal with when they are bullied and ostracized. Young viewers should be happy that the protagonists do not play into their victim roles, and learn to gain confidence in a slowly realistic way. Sure, it's a boy and girl on the edge of their sexual awakening, but sex has yet to become an issue in their lives; self-esteem and survival are much higher priorities. Parents will be happy that the taboos of so many teen movies are not broached here, and that the only parent shown in the film is not bumbling or mean but actually accomplished and concerned. The novel the film is based on is probably better, because you can just feel the character development that it must have conveyed in many words which is here reduced to a few lines of dialogue and the actors' behavior. Still, there is plenty here to interest and provoke young people-- as other comments have indicated-- and it's a nice alternative to many of the harsher, commercialized films that Hollywood pushes on youth today. And just in case you get to the ending hoping for a bigger resolution (spoiler alert...), the final lines of the film are written and not spoken, and they powerfully convey perhaps the greatest kind of longing and confession that young teens have so energetically packed inside themselves, roaring to get out.

For whatever reason, stories like this, Bridge to Terabithia, Little Manhattan and etc., I just find so cute. Mostly because it is so rare they are made, since really who wants to watch two unknown kids deal with bullying and running away, but at the same time a lot of good actors start off as kids. And to me, both Chandler Canterbury and Annalise Basso give the type of performance where you can see that, with the right agent, they both could have fruitful careers in the entertainment business. Characters & Story The story of Standing Up deals with two outcasts. One being Howie (played by Chandler Canterbury) and the other Grace (played by Annalise Basso). Both are going to this camp which has a tradition of hazing in which a "goat" is left on this island a mile away from camp and stripped naked. But, the two goats this year, Grace and Howie, don't stick around for the ridicule. Howie, being resourceful, and a bit of a kleptomaniac, guides them on a 2-3 day journey in which as their bond grows stronger, so do they. Praise Despite the whole bullying thing being what is talked about when it comes to this movie, thankfully it isn't really the main focus. If anything, Standing Up reminds you that as much as bullying is a problem amongst peers, part of the issue isn't just the bully that is the child's age, but parents which are the bullies as well. However, though the topic of bullying is a part of the film, the real focus is the journey Grace and Howie have in which both Basso and Canterbury really display a good emotional complexity which is often absent in adolescent characters. The reason I say this is because though children are often apart of stories in which dramatic, or rather traumatic, things happen, they are usually place in a supporting role so while their feelings are present, they often are secondary. With Standing Up though, you can see these two young people portray the trauma of being ostracized, the awkwardness of receiving kindness from a stranger, and even watching them become interdependent is strange, but at the same time entertaining. Basso, for instance, grows as a character from this sniveling little mouse into a girl who seems to have learn what confidence is, and though Howie surely helped, at the same time you can't say what she learns is fully based on her mimicking him. As for Canterbury, quite honestly, I think he could easily follow in Josh Hutcherson's shoes and maybe have a career like him, or maybe even better. And I say that because he shows the same type of emotional depth Hutcherson did in the movies mentioned above in which a boy is allowed to show his emotions, cry about his situation, and find this weird sort of way to show that despite how often we undermine kids, that they can easily feel like they have as much on their plate as people older than them. Criticism When it comes to critiquing this film, I must admit I did find it weird how the kids survived for the days they ran away. I mean, the adults seem pretty oblivious. Between them sneaking into a summer camp and them getting a motel room for the night, I'm not sure if you have to stretch your disbelief or if someone could really do this, and it is just I haven't heard of such a tale yet. Outside of that though, really there are no major issues. Overall: Rental/VOD It is rare for movies like this to be made when kids aren't trying to be cute or are made to be comical, and seemingly just like when popular comedians get to do dramatic roles, certain kids in dramatic roles just flourish. And lest we forget, be it Natalie Portman, Christina Ricci, and those of a younger generation like Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb, movies like this one are what help people discover great actors. And that is why I say this is worth renting or seeing on Video on Demand. For though you may not watch an award worthy performance, you certainly can see potential in the two leads and who doesn't want to see talent at a starting stage and watch it grow?

I feel like I have a sever head cold as I write this. My sinuses are only just starting to recover from this movie. I only wish I had the words to describe the vibrant beauty with which this movie was shot, always bright, and alive the forest is always a welcome, and soft texture framing the story. This is a dear sweet coming of age film about love and the invisible umbrella of protection that a story can be. These two children are so frail, and fragile, but are as adept as any seasoned actor at becoming more like a dog getting it's mane up, these kids learn to Stand up, and learn that trusting in each other can get you through the toughest times. Val Kilmer is hilarious in his dead pan performance that could not have seemed creepier if he had tried. I am so jealous of these two children, and the fact that they found each other in the exact time on this earth when I was looking for my perfect "Grace" that I still have yet to meet. You will enjoy this story, and see the truth in a lot of our worst childhood fears and how small they get when brought out into the light of day.

This is a story about two outcasts named Howie (played by Chandler Canterbury) and Grace (played by Annalise Basso) who find each other late one night stranded on Goats Island. These two harmless and timid 12 year olds have been chosen by the camp bullies to be taken by canoes a mile from their campsite and dropped off in the dark of night but not before they are both stripped naked, their clothes absconded with and mocked at as the bullies take off in their canoes laughing at being successful in finding this year's new "goats". These bullies see this as an annual rite of passage to pick on weaker children who are unable to defend themselves and embarrass them with their sick plan to strip them of any ounce of dignity that even their clothes would protect them from. Grace is beside herself in total fear wondering how she ever allowed herself to get caught up in this embarrassing situation with a boy (Howie) she has never met before. How will she ever live with this embarrassment? Well, Howie who may also be very meek and sees that the canoes are returning to subject the two naked "goats" to more taunting tells Grace that he for one is not going to take any more of their crap and if she wants to avoid any further bullying they need to vacate Goats Island immediately. Reluctantly even though she cannot swim she believes she has a greater chance of getting through this ordeal with the assistance of the other "goat", Howie. Upon reaching dry land and still naked and covered only by a blanket their adventure begins. Grace is able to reach her mother Meg (played by Radha Mitchell) while she is in the middle of an important meeting and Grace cries uncontrollably begging for her mother to come pick them both up. She tells her mom that Howie needs to leave with them since Howie has told Grace his parents are archeologists and they are overseas in Greece on an excavation. Meg tells her daughter that the reason she sent her to this camp is to toughen her up and to make some new friends. The tragedy of these circumstances are that although the events may differ from child to child the trauma young preadolescents endure could be mitigated earlier if only parents would listen and focus on their child first and not on their careers. I commend director D J Caruso for compiling a very moving and endearing film that allows each of us to relate to these two preadolescent children and the fear that their bullies (especially in groups) can overwhelm them with. Who amongst us has not been challenged at some time in our young lives by their own bully and were we as brave as these two young children were? This is a beautiful coming of age adventure film which takes place over a four day span and how these two children learn how to grow up quickly if they want to survive in the woods surrounded by water. The kids run into other bullies along their journey but are now more resilient and willing to stand up for one another. There is a dramatic scene when Grace is on the phone with her mother Meg, and Meg tells Grace that she will do what she can to help young Howie too. I give the film a perfect 10 and if I could give Standing Up a point for every tear I dropped over a number of heartbreaking scenes by these two fine young actors (Chandler Canterbury and Annalise Basso) I would. I don't know how this film was not a box office bonanza but I for one give it two thumbs up!!

This movie is sweet and heartfelt. The two leads are beyond adorable and charming and if they so chose they could have done nothing else, but they don't don't rely on their charm to tell you their story. They each show you how their characters are tough, scared, outcast and united; All of these things that you aren't sure children can feel so keenly. They teach the audience how kids think and they tell you that cruelty (even unintentional cruelty) can really hurt and shape how a person behaves. The starting plot is sad and makes you really feel for their characters but the two kids quickly show you that they can handle what the world throws at them and you forget the harsh melancholy that overcame you. Their independence and confidence grows as the movie goes on as does their comfort with each other. The setting is beautiful; the camp sites are full of colour and lush nature that just seems so serene and peaceful. You don't find yourself worrying for these kids as they travel through the undergrowth because they've proved that they can take care of themselves but you do root for whatever it is they want to come from this. I phrase it that way because the kids don't really seem to want anything tangible; they just want to stay together. And who can blame them? They are the only two people at camp who know what they have been through (humiliation, hunger, etc.) and before this experience they were each alone. Its really an amazing story because you see how the two grow to rely on each other and by the end of the film they have broken down the wall of just plain politeness/cold truce because they really care for each other and are very invested in each others lives. The ending wraps up the story nicely (something changed from the novel "The Goats" on which this was based) and you just know that these two kids will be all right. Overall, I was impressed with the adaptation and I would watch it again and again and again. 9/10

D.J. Caruso's Standing Up was a movie I thought was going to be horrible from the very beginning. It takes place at night one mile off of a campsite where a girl named Grace (played by Annalise Basso) and a boy named Howie (played by chandler Canterbury) get forced to be naked by a few camp mates who actually took their clothes off ( perfect for a bad beginning) and go inside to a sort of abandoned building in order to seek shelter and are on a worthless survival adventure when Grace's mom (played by Radha Mitchell) is on a wild goose chase just trying to find her daughter and her fellow companion. Everything about this movie is totally stupid, The performances are weak, the dialogue is unnecessary as well as unintentionally hilarious in one scene, the screenplay tries so hard to demonstrate itself when it acts as if it can't and it is too lazy to do so, the directing is floppy, and the one person who gives the stupidest performance throughout the entire movie was unfortunately Val Kilmer who just played a drunken cop in which the 2 stranded nerds thought was going to bring them to the worried mother, but then refers to the goat smell in the back of his SUV, and stops at his house by the excuse of that he id going to get something when he is really calling his boss to get them reported. As Elizabeth Taylor said in Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? "It's a flop, a great big flop" which is exactly what this film really was.