This film received a very positive review in the LA times so I rented it on Netflix where it can be seen well before it is released for sale. I have worked in education for over 40 years, so I particularly watch for films about school and teaching. I found this film to be more like an after-school special at first, with shades of Wonder Years, and was finding it too childish, as no middle schoolers used terms like "cooties" in the 60's. (More like 2nd graders maybe). But then the film turned more serious, and dealt with bullying and rumors of the teacher possibly being homosexual because he has been single for a long time, a notion fed by one of the bullies parents. One reviewer at this site decried that Ed Harris as the teacher should have resigned more in protest rather than quietly leave to visit his sister. But in the 60's, the society wasn't as tolerant of gays as today, and it would have seemed more wishful thinking than reality. The final 45 minutes were far better than the first scenes, and left me feeling I had seen a pretty good movie, albeit overly nostalgic and more like a TV movie. Still, I give it a 7, and think it is a worthwhile family film, especially for upper elementary and early secondary kids to watch with or without their parents. Ed Harris is very believable in his role, as is Chase Ellison and some of the other kids, who, unlike in most films about kids, actually looked about the age they were playing, instead of 3 or 4 years older.
Review of That's What I Am
That's What I Am
(2011)
Not Great But Worthwhile Film On Bullying and False Rumors
22 May 2011
Warning: Spoilers