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Closed Captioned. Starring: Wallace Shawn, Nick Cassavetes, Ben Diskin, Laura Innes, Michael Tucci

Sixth-grade nothing Charlie Spiegel is tired of being pushed around. When his lunch money is stolen one time too many, he decides to do something about it: he will pay a well-sculpted, athletic guy to pose as his dad in order to win all the prizes at the annual Father/Son picnic. But will his nerdy though loving real dad (Wallace Shawn) find out?

A Review: This certainly is one of the better single-parent sentimentality movies. The relationship between nerdy 12-y/o Charlie (Ben Diskin) and his nerdy father (Wallace Shawn) is both intimate and mutually respectful. Far from being engaged in the usual intergenerational control struggle, they are each trying to support the other, and when they mistakenly hurt each other they are regretful. If this sounds a bit sappy, it's balanced by a sub-plot involving a reformed gangster (Nick Cassavetes) and some rough characters from his past. My personal test of a "kid movie" is always whether or not the young person is portrayed as a fully human being, with thoughts, opinions and values, and who takes independent initiatives to solve the problems the plot presents to him or her. This film gets very high marks in that regard, and is well acted and well directed (Blair Treu) to boot. Excellent viewing!