Max Keeble's Big Move (2001)

Max Keeble, the victim of his 7th grade class, plots revenge when he learns he's moving; it backfires when he doesn't move after all.

Director:

Tim Hill

Writers:

David L. Watts (story), Jonathan Bernstein (story),

Stars:

Alex D. Linz, Larry Miller, Jamie Kennedy

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alex D. Linz	...	Max Keeble
Larry Miller	...	Principal Elliot T. Jindraike
Jamie Kennedy	...	Evil Ice Cream Man
Zena Grey	...	Megan
Josh Peck	...	Robe
Nora Dunn	...	Lily Keeble
Robert Carradine	...	Don Keeble
Clifton Davis	...	Supt. Bobby 'Crazy Legs' Knebworth
Amy Hill	...	Mrs. Rangoon
Noel Fisher	...	Troy McGinty
Orlando Brown	...	Dobbs
Amber Valletta	...	Ms. Dingman
Justin Berfield	...	Caption Writer
Veronica Alicino	...	Mrs. Talia
Brooke Anne Smith	...	Jenna

Storyline

Max Keeble is a nice, quiet teenager, whose idea of 'superhero-requiring' danger is braving Evil Ice Cream Man who blames him for a health complaint from ma Lily. She spent six years on just the right interior and now hears from dad Don Keeble, a wimp whose 'career' in commercial publicity still only got him wearing sly costumes, a promotion requires the family to move to Chicago. Initially Max just hates giving up his high-school friends, a fatso and a music-maniac, but when their former friend Troy McGinty picks on them with his new image as bully realizes leaving means he can't be punished after Friday, and plans an orgy of revenge. Max's targets include the arrogant new principal, Elliot T. Jindraike, who spends the school budget on a new sports stadium to flatter the inspector, Superintendant Bobby 'Crazy Legs' Knebworth, and even plants to tear down the animal shelter. When it's all in motion, dad suddenly announces he has taken Max's first advice and turned down the promotion!

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Plot Keywords:

school | moving | revenge | principal | bully | 

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Taglines:

His World. His Rules.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some bullying and crude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Disney

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

7th Grade Heart Attack

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,377,958 (USA) (5 October 2001)

Gross:

$17,292,381 (USA) (22 February 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Karz Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min 91 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (CFI)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Max's flashback towards how the Bullies were plaguing the school, there was a brief scene where Megan tells Dobbs that she keeps her money in a piggy bank that "looks just like [Dobbs]". This was left over from a deleted scene where Dobbs tries to get Megan to give him her lunch money, but then she refuses (by sarcastically telling him the above line), which then results in him stealing her clarinet from the locker as retaliation.

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Goofs

In the beginning, during Max's dream when the Evil Ice Cream Man shoots Tony Hawk with ice cream, he says, "Mmm! A Tony Hawk sundae!", but his lips stopped moving before "sundae" (01:33).

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Quotes

Dobbs: [to Max when they are about to bully him] You know how doctors say, "This isn't gonna hurt a bit"? Well, I'm not a doctor, and neither is McGinty here.
Troy McGinty: He's right.
[looks straight to Max closely]
Troy McGinty: I'm not a doctor.
Dobbs: [Shaking his hands like he's rapping] Yeeah!

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Crazy Credits

Aside from the Walt Disney Pictures logo, there are no opening credits after the title is shown.

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Connections

Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #29.6 (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Aim for Me"
Written by Craig Bullock, Charles Stan Frazier (as Charles Frazier), Matthew Murphy Karges (as Matthew Karges),
Mark McGrath, Joseph Nichol, and Rodney Sheppard
Performed by Sugar Ray
Courtesy of Lava/Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Desperate times call for screwy measures

Max Keeble's Big Move seems like a combination of several different films and none of them worth watching. To begin with, movie titles like this perplex me. Who is Max Keeble, why is he being introduced abruptly, and why is his "move" film worthy? It's always a hit or miss state when you get a movie named after a character you never heard of before. But not just a movie named after an unknown character, but with a film title like this you'd expect to have some acquaintance with the title character before. It's stating he is making a "big move," so you'd assume that with a prior introduction you'd have some essence to what that "big move" might be.

Upon seeing this advertised years ago I had a thought in the back of my mind that if the film would become very successful Max Keeble would be the next character to have his very own Television show. By watching the film, that almost appears that is what they were going for. It has a Disney Channel vibe to it that's difficult to explain. It's corny, awkward in places, uninspired, and appears to be colored in with a crayon.

But this isn't the film for me. While I grew up around the time of this film and tend to enjoy childhood nostalgia, take my review of Good Burger for example, I couldn't find much use for this. It's odd and out of place. It tells the journey of a tween named Max Keeble (Linz) who is entering the dreaded middle school with his friends Robe (Peck) and Megan (Grey).

Max learns that his favorite animal shelter he helps out at is closing, bullies at school only grow meaner when the grade gets higher, his corrupt Principal Jindrake (Miller) is up to no good, and the ice cream man won't stop harassing children.

Man, Max has a ton on his plate. And on top of that he may be moving to Chicago and he desperately wants to win the heart of a Freshman girl who is carelessly ripped from other better kids films.

This is another one of those teenage films where the lead character treats middle school like the depths of hell. While I hated middle school, and it frustrated me beyond belief, I should be grateful for the fact that I didn't go through the harassment and stress that Max did. For God's sakes they don't even show the amount of homework he must get too. Fifth grade to sixth is a big jump in terms of workload, and not obligatory, over-dramatic situations.

Will the target audience enjoy it? Probably so, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade to be exact. Will older kids like it? If they grew up with it, yes. Will adults like it? Pretty unlikely. Max Keeble's Big Move is truly harmless, but redundant, and at a mere eighty-six minutes it doesn't capture the "big move" too well as much as it captures ones chaotic, over-exaggerated journey through middle school.

One last thought; I always wondered if movie characters are aware of other films. If so, I'd recommend to Max Keeble to pull a "Ferris Bueller" some days. These kinds of middle school pressures deserve some days off.

Starring: Alex D. Linz, Josh Peck, Zena Grey, Larry Miller, and Jamie Kennedy. Directed by: Tim Hill.