Mr. Rice's Secret (1999)

A terminally-ill boy's life is saved when his deceased 400-year-old friend, "Mr. Rice", leads him on a treasure hunt to find a magical "Potion of Life".

Director:

Nicholas Kendall

Writer:

J.H. Wyman

Stars:

David Bowie, Bill Switzer, Teryl Rothery

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Bowie	...	Mr. Rice
Bill Switzer	...	Owen
Teryl Rothery	...	Marylyn
Garwin Sanford	...	Stan
Zach Lipovsky	...	Funnel Head
Jason Anderson	...	Veg
Tyler Thompson	...	Gilbert
Campbell Lane	...	Mr. Death
Richard de Klerk	...	Simon (as Richard De Klerk)
Tyler Labine	...	Percy
Eric Keenleyside	...	Ray (as Eric Keenlyside)
Colleen Rennison	...	Molly
Kyle Labine	...	Jonathan
Tim Dixon	...	Priest
Juno Rinaldi	...	Cindy (as Juno Ruddell)

Storyline

A terminally-ill boy's life is saved when his deceased 400-year-old friend, "Mr. Rice", leads him on a treasure hunt to find a magical "Potion of Life".

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Plot Keywords:

friend | 400 year old | teenage boy | ring | old man | 

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Taglines:

It's what you do in life that counts.

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, language and scenes of bullying

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 2001 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Exhuming Mr. Rice

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New City Productions, Panorama Entertainment

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the end of the credits, the working title of the movie can be seen: "Exhuming Mr. Rice".

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Quotes

Funnel 'Funnel Head' McConnell: He's a parent, Owen. He's a recognized authority figure: I mean, he's supposed to be lied to!

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Soundtracks

Beautiful Day
by Tom Cochrane
Used by permission of BMG Music Publishing Canada
Courtesy of EMI Music Canada

User Reviews

A deep exploration of a difficult topic

Death is not an easy topic to deal with in movies. But Mr Rice's secret manages to pull it off, with no problems. The film is centered around a boy, who while coming to terms with the death of his friend (the 400 year old Mr Rice) is led on a kind of treasure hunt. When he reaches the end he finds a potion of life, and learns an important lesson. The boy (played brilliantly by Billy Switzer) is the star of the film (despite it being pushed as a David Bowie film). The character of his mother (played by Teryl Rothery) could have been explored a little more and been more involved with the plot, but apart from that, it felt well cast and acted. A must see for when you want to ponder things like the meaning of life.