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The Battle of Shaker Heights

5.2

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Original title

The Battle of Shaker Heights

Year

2003

Running time

79 min.

Country

United States

Director

Efram Potelle, Kyle Rankin

Screenwriter

Erica Beeney

Cast

Producer

Miramax. Producer: Ben Affleck

Genre

Comedy | Teen/coming-of-age

Synopsis

With a team of strong actors, a hilarious script by Erica Beeney, and an evocative soundtrack, directing duo Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin have hit the nail on the head with THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS. A clever and wonderfully nostalgic coming-of-age movie that does not fail to entertain, it achieves something close to Wes Anderson's brilliant RUSHMORE. Kelly Ernswiler (Shia LaBeouf) is a 17-year-old expert in the art of war, uncomfortable in his own skin except for those shining moments when he is reenacting historic battles or viciously critiquing his poor history teacher for a watered-down understanding of Gettysburg. Kelly is a bundle of thwarted ideas and insights that he chalks up to living with his artist Mom (Kathleen Quinlan), who is short on homemaking skills, and recovering drug addict father (William Sadler), who occasionally invites the local homeless to sleep on their couch. When Kelly becomes the target of a school bully (Billy Kay), his rich-kid friend Bart (Elden Henson) helps him wage a grand-scale counterattack. Even more trouble bubbles up when Kelly develops an inappropriate and obstinate infatuation with Bart's Yale grad-school sister Tabby (Amy Smart). A product of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Project Greenlight, BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS is a unique success due to Potelle's graceful teetering between smart-ass exterior and inner fragility.

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Critics' reviews

"Surprisingly sweet and smart... LaBeouf does an excellent job, and the talented Beeney is one to watch."

Elizabeth Weitzman: New York Daily News
"Isn't bad so much as jumbled...You get the sense of too much input, too many bright ideas, too many scenes that don't belong in the same movie."

Roger Ebert: Chicago Sun-Times
"LaBeouf somehow manages to turn Kelly's self-centered behavior and irritating character quirks into a sympathetic lead, and the well-written script by newcomer Erica Beeney brings a lot of humor"

Angel Cohn: TV Guide
"Potelle and Rankin lack the skill to integrate the sometimes drastic shifts between comedy and drama - and the serious portions ultimately get short shrift"

Lou Lumenick: New York Post
"Another heartfelt coming-of-age story that plays much more like a television movie than a theatrical feature."

Frank Scheck: The Hollywood Reporter

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