How to Eat Fried Worms (2006)

Director:

Bob Dolman

Writers (WGA):

Bob Dolman (screenplay)
Thomas Rockwell (novel)

Release Date:

25 August 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

New town. New friends. New menu.

Plot:

During the first day of his new school year, a fifth grade boy squares off against a bully and winds up accepting a dare that could change the balance of power within the class. |

Plot Keywords:

Worm | Bully | Bet | Microwave Oven | Child

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Luke Benward	...	Billy
Hallie Kate Eisenberg	...	Erika
Adam Hicks	...	Joe
Austin Rogers	...	Adam
Alexander Gould	...	Twitch
Ryan Malgarini	...	Benjy
Philip Bolden	...	Bradley (as Philip Daniel Bolden)
Clint Howard	...	Uncle Ed
Ty Panitz	...	Woody
James Rebhorn	...	Boiler Head
Thomas Cavanagh	...	Dad
Kimberly Williams-Paisley	...	Mom
Andrew Gillingham	...	Techno Mouth
Blake Garrett	...	Plug
Alexander Agate	...	Donny

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild bullying and some crude humor.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-7 | USA:PG (certificate #42231) | Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp | Singapore:PG | Malaysia:(Banned) | Germany:6 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Gran Via

Trivia:

Most of the days the movie were shot were at 95-100 Fahrenheit, and most of the cast and crew were hot and sweaty. Because of this, at the end of the day, everybody would swim in the water hole, which was used in the last half of the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: After worm explodes in microwave, its guts splatter on the glass, and then disappear in next shot.

Quotes:

Woody: Yeah; he got sick from chicken pox, too much Halloween, and putting toothpaste on a lightbulb. And he got sick at the zoo... from watching a pig lick itself.

Movie Connections:

Version of How to Eat Fried Worms (1985) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Human Hands

Nothing like book but still enjoyed it!

I remembered this as being one of my favorite books as a child and had been wanting to read it to my 5 year old daughter for a while now. I knew the movie was coming out soon so we went to the library to get the book and they gave us preview passes for the next day! We rushed home and spent the afternoon reading the book so we could compare. Wasn't necessary. The only thing in common between the book and the movie is the main characters' first name, the fact that there is a bet, and a whole lot of worm eating. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the kid who cooks most of the worms likes to present his masterpieces with a french accent. How the kids know each other, the number of kids involved, how the bet came about, the number of worms that must be eaten, the time frame in which he has to eat the worms, how they are cooked, progression of friendships, climax scenes, etc., NOTHING is the same. But somehow, it did not ruin the movie for me. The characters are all enjoyable, and the film did not leave me disappointed. Word of caution for parents, there was one moment when you could hear the adults in the room collectively draw their breath and that was when Billy's little brother referred to his penis as a "dilly dick". The embarrassing part came when my daughter proceeded to ask those sitting around us, "Does anybody know what a dilly dick is?" lol. That and an occasional "shut up" is as foul mouthed as this film gets. My daughter thought she might get sick around worm 3 and 4 (and was holding the empty nacho container just in case) but was fine by worm 6. She and I both really enjoyed the film and had a wonderful time sharing the experience.