Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Jonathan Lipnicki | ... | Toby | |
Cody Linley | ... | Cal | |
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Jesse Pennington | ... | Wayne |
Jane Krakowski | ... | Heather | |
Eric Stoltz | ... | Otto | |
Kevin Corrigan | ... | Paulie (as Kevin Fitzgerald Corrigan) | |
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Sarah Whalen | ... | Sally in the Pick-up |
Louanne Stephens | ... | Earline | |
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Hudson Lee Long | ... | Wylie Womack (as Hudson Long) |
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Lou Perryman | ... | Ferris |
Brady Coleman | ... | Sheriff | |
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Kathleen Lancaster | ... | Kate McKnight |
Amanda Alch | ... | Scarlet | |
Joanna McCray | ... | Tara | |
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David Little | ... | Thoughtful farmer |
Zachary Beaver, a sideshow attraction known as the world's fattest boy, arrives in the sleepy town of Granger, Texas.
Twelve-year-old Texas friends Jonathan Lipnicki (as Toby Wilson) and Cody Linley (as Cal McKnight) react like you might expect when "World's Fattest Boy," 443-pound Sasha Neulinger (as Zachary Beaver), comes to visit their Texas town. There are guffaws, groans, and grins - but, the three lads become pals. Mr. Lipnicki's mother leaves town to become a country music star, Mr. Linley's older brother joins the army, Mr. Neulinger's guardian disappears, and the three lads learn how friendship can help heal loss...
Based on an award-winning children's novel by Kimberly Willis Holt, "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town" gets lost in the translation to motion picture. You can tell, however, there was a good story somewhere. The best storyline involves Linley's war-bound brother. The worst is may be Neulinger's baptism with a fat suit. There are intriguing but unrealized possibilities in wayward characters, like Lipnicki's mother (Jane Krakowski) and Neulinger's guardian (Kevin Corrigan). The book had to be better.
**** When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (10/9/03) John Schultz ~ Jonathan Lipnicki, Cody Linley, Sasha Neulinger, Eric Stoltz