Josh and S.A.M. (1993)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Billy Weber

Writer (WGA):

Frank Deese (written by)

Release Date:

24 November 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Drama

Tagline:

Why run away from home when you can drive?

Plot:

Josh and Sam are two brothers facing change, their mother is about to marry a French accountant and...

Plot Keywords:

Canada | On The Run | Texas | Strategically Altered Mutant | Atm Machine

Cast

Jacob Tierney	...	Joshua 'Josh' Whitney
Noah Fleiss	...	Samuel 'Sam' 'Killer Sam' Whitney
Martha Plimpton	...	Alison (The Liberty Maid)
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Thomas 'Thom' Whitney
Joan Allen	...	Caroline Whitney
Chris Penn	...	Derek Baxter
Maury Chaykin	...	Pizza Man
Ronald Guttman	...	Jean-Pierre LaTorette
Udo Kier	...	Salon Manager
Sean Baca	...	Curtis
Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Leon
Anne Lange	...	Ellen
Ann Hearn	...	Teacher
Christian Clemenson	...	Policeman
Allan Arbus	...	Businessman on Plane

Runtime:

96 min | Italy:89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Arches National Park, Moab, Utah, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

Harry Caesar's last movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: The Kotex on Sam's forehead appears and disappears between shots when they are sleeping at the grain elevator, and theb re-appears in the car.

Quotes:

Josh Whitney: Sam you're a genius!
Sam Whitney: Yeah well it's not my fault. They made me that way.

Movie Connections:

References What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

Soundtrack:

Hot Mocking Bird

Quirky runaway adventure

'Josh and SAM' is an interesting little film that deals with a variety of issues in a manner that draws in the audience and endears them to the characters.

It revolves around two young brothers, twelve-year-old Josh and seven-year-old Sam, who live with their divorced mother. When she goes on intends to marry her fiancé and relocate to France, the boys are shipped to Florida to live with their father Thom. Although he doesn't intend to, Thom can't help but favour the sporty and energetic Sam over his quiet, geeky elder son and things turn even more sour for Josh when he clashes with his stepbrothers and then learns of his mother's plans to leave them. Bitter at the world, Josh tells his brother that he is a 'SAM', a robot child soldier who must escape to Canada before he is shipped to fight in the war-torn depths of Africa. And when Josh thinks he's accidentally killed a man, he puts his plan to runaway into action.

The two young leads, Jacob Tierney as Josh and Noah Fleiss as Sam, give excellent performances despite their ages and relative inexperience in acting. Tierney portrays Josh's anger and jealousy as well as his vulnerability while Fleiss is effective in depicting Sam's naivety and love/hate relationship with his elder brother.

This is a film that is not only a Boys' Own adventure that takes the two brothers across the country but it is one that looks at family relationships (fraternal bonds as well as dysfunctional parenting and the turmoil of step-families) and the coming-of-age of a pre-adolescent who is very insecure in his world. Although 'Josh and SAM' is obviously aimed at a younger demography, I imagine older teens and adults would enjoy it too as I certainly did both when I saw it aged about thirteen and again when I saw it again around twelve years later. It's a film that has something for everyone and is definitely one of the better lesser-known films of the Nineties.