"How to Eat Fried Worms" (2006)
Directed By: Bob Dolman
Starring: Luke Benward, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Adam Hicks, Austin Rogers, Alexander Gould, Clint Howard, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Ty Panitz & Thomas Cavanagh
MPAA Rating: "PG" (for mild bullying and some crude humor)
I had read "How to Eat Fried Worms" when I was younger, but I hadn't even thought about it for years. When I heard they were making it into a movie, I remembered reading it, but nothing else about it. I saw the trailer and, I must admit, that I didn't really get the feeling that this would be a good movie. In fact, the trailer made it look gross and, ultimately, just didn't make me want to see the movie at all. In a world where trailers often show the best parts of the movie, a trailer that makes the film look bland is never a good sign. When critics greeted it with a surprisingly warm reception (I expected it to be much, much colder), I actually got excited. Could it possibly be that the trailer was just a bad trailer for a good movie? It has happened before. When I finally saw "How to Eat Fried Worms", I realized that the trailer definitely was misleading, though not completely wrong. It is far better than its advertisements suggested, though still just an average kids' film. It will entertain the kids, though parents will probably be grossed out and, ultimately, it just isn't anything special. "Average" is a word I have had to use far too much lately and, unfortunately, it is the word that sums up "How to Eat Fried Worms" as well.
Billy (Benward) is the new kid at school and is, automatically, the target of the school's bully, Joe (Hicks). When Joe switches Billy's lunch with a bunch of live worms, Billy, not wanting to let Joe think he is upset, pretends to love eating worms and thus a battle of wits ensues. Joe bets Billy that Billy can't eat ten worms and Billy accepts the bet. Whoever loses will have to come to school with worms in their pants. How many times have we heard a plot similar to this--the new kid at school becoming the target of the token bully? If there has ever been a more tired plot beginner then I have never seen it. But, this is not the only thing that is clichéd in "How to Eat Fried Worms"? The middle and the end have also been done before, leaving absolutely no room for imagination or surprises. We have seen this all before.
The performances in "How to Eat Fried Worms" are about what you would expect from its young cast. They are by no means award-worthy, but they all serve their purpose well enough, I suppose. And besides, the target audience really won't be complaining about underwhelming performances. Luke Benward carries the movie, because he is in almost every scene. He does a nice job no complaints here. Hallie Kate Eisenberg, despite having starred in a few big Hollywood productions, is probably best known for starring in a series of Pepsi commercials. Here, she really isn't given much to do, but she does with it what she can. Adam Hicks pretty much plays the same old bully we have seen over and over again, time after time. I can't blame him for this, because he is a fourteen year old actor who probably hasn't seen a lot of the performances from which his character was ripped off. The rest of the cast does a decent job. It all worked well enough.
"How to Eat Fried Worms" is a horribly unoriginal movie. It was so clichéd and stereotypical that there was practically no room for creativity or originality. Unfortunately, for everyone who has seen even a quarter of the movies produced by Hollywood each year, there really isn't much of a reason to see this however, "How to Eat Fried Worms" was not made for these people. It was made for kids and, for kids, "How to Eat Fried Worms" is a solid enough watch. It's a safe film, despite being gross and almost completely repulsive, but kids will enjoy it. Parents probably won't. "How to Eat Fried Worms" is made specifically for its target audience and that audience will like it. Did I enjoy it? Well, I'm going to recommend it, but it isn't a movie that I would go out of my way to watch again. If I am ever watching television one lazy Saturday afternoon and "How to Eat Fried Worms" comes on, then I would probably watch it again. Despite being glaringly obvious, it's a comical movie that kids will have fun with it even if parents will find it to be rather dull and completely uninventive.
Final Thought: Kids will like it regardless of how clichéd it is.
Overall Rating: 5/10 (B-)
Directed By: Bob Dolman
Starring: Luke Benward, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Adam Hicks, Austin Rogers, Alexander Gould, Clint Howard, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Ty Panitz & Thomas Cavanagh
MPAA Rating: "PG" (for mild bullying and some crude humor)
I had read "How to Eat Fried Worms" when I was younger, but I hadn't even thought about it for years. When I heard they were making it into a movie, I remembered reading it, but nothing else about it. I saw the trailer and, I must admit, that I didn't really get the feeling that this would be a good movie. In fact, the trailer made it look gross and, ultimately, just didn't make me want to see the movie at all. In a world where trailers often show the best parts of the movie, a trailer that makes the film look bland is never a good sign. When critics greeted it with a surprisingly warm reception (I expected it to be much, much colder), I actually got excited. Could it possibly be that the trailer was just a bad trailer for a good movie? It has happened before. When I finally saw "How to Eat Fried Worms", I realized that the trailer definitely was misleading, though not completely wrong. It is far better than its advertisements suggested, though still just an average kids' film. It will entertain the kids, though parents will probably be grossed out and, ultimately, it just isn't anything special. "Average" is a word I have had to use far too much lately and, unfortunately, it is the word that sums up "How to Eat Fried Worms" as well.
Billy (Benward) is the new kid at school and is, automatically, the target of the school's bully, Joe (Hicks). When Joe switches Billy's lunch with a bunch of live worms, Billy, not wanting to let Joe think he is upset, pretends to love eating worms and thus a battle of wits ensues. Joe bets Billy that Billy can't eat ten worms and Billy accepts the bet. Whoever loses will have to come to school with worms in their pants. How many times have we heard a plot similar to this--the new kid at school becoming the target of the token bully? If there has ever been a more tired plot beginner then I have never seen it. But, this is not the only thing that is clichéd in "How to Eat Fried Worms"? The middle and the end have also been done before, leaving absolutely no room for imagination or surprises. We have seen this all before.
The performances in "How to Eat Fried Worms" are about what you would expect from its young cast. They are by no means award-worthy, but they all serve their purpose well enough, I suppose. And besides, the target audience really won't be complaining about underwhelming performances. Luke Benward carries the movie, because he is in almost every scene. He does a nice job no complaints here. Hallie Kate Eisenberg, despite having starred in a few big Hollywood productions, is probably best known for starring in a series of Pepsi commercials. Here, she really isn't given much to do, but she does with it what she can. Adam Hicks pretty much plays the same old bully we have seen over and over again, time after time. I can't blame him for this, because he is a fourteen year old actor who probably hasn't seen a lot of the performances from which his character was ripped off. The rest of the cast does a decent job. It all worked well enough.
"How to Eat Fried Worms" is a horribly unoriginal movie. It was so clichéd and stereotypical that there was practically no room for creativity or originality. Unfortunately, for everyone who has seen even a quarter of the movies produced by Hollywood each year, there really isn't much of a reason to see this however, "How to Eat Fried Worms" was not made for these people. It was made for kids and, for kids, "How to Eat Fried Worms" is a solid enough watch. It's a safe film, despite being gross and almost completely repulsive, but kids will enjoy it. Parents probably won't. "How to Eat Fried Worms" is made specifically for its target audience and that audience will like it. Did I enjoy it? Well, I'm going to recommend it, but it isn't a movie that I would go out of my way to watch again. If I am ever watching television one lazy Saturday afternoon and "How to Eat Fried Worms" comes on, then I would probably watch it again. Despite being glaringly obvious, it's a comical movie that kids will have fun with it even if parents will find it to be rather dull and completely uninventive.
Final Thought: Kids will like it regardless of how clichéd it is.
Overall Rating: 5/10 (B-)