Standing Up (2013)

Two kids befriend each other after being left stripped nude in a lake as the victims of an immature summer camp prank. They run away from camp and for three days learn more about each other than they've ever known before.

Director:

D.J. Caruso

Writers:

D.J. Caruso (screenplay), Brock Cole (novel)

Stars:

Chandler Canterbury, Annalise Basso, Radha Mitchell

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chandler Canterbury	...	Howie
Annalise Basso	...	Grace
Radha Mitchell	...	Meg
Val Kilmer	...	Hofstadder
Kate Maberly	...	Margo Cutter
Charles Carroll	...	Mr. Carlson
Alix Lapri	...	Tiwana (as Alexus Lapri Geier)
Deidra Shores	...	Lydia
Adrian Kali Turner	...	Calvin
Justin Tinucci	...	Butch
Keith Flippen	...	Mr. Russell
William J. Harrison	...	Bryce
Jared Kemmerling	...	Murphy
Daniel Caruso	...	Arnold
Blake Cooper Griffin	...	Eric (as Blake Griffin)

Storyline

Based on one of the most beloved Young Adult novels of all time: Two kids are stripped naked and left together on an island in a lake - victims of a vicious summer camp prank; But rather than have to return to camp and face the humiliation, they decide to take off, on the run together. What follows is a three day odyssey of discovery and self-discovery.

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Plot Keywords:

prank | summer camp | island | stripped naked | run away | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements including bullying, and for brief smoking and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 August 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Goat Island

Filming Locations:

Lake Chatuge, Towns County, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

AR Films, Aldamisa Entertainment, Seven Star Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A long time passion project, Caruso first read the book in 1990. But it wasn't until 2000 that he started developing the project with producer Ken Aguado.

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Goofs

This is supposed to be a summer camp. It's clearly autumn which means that the kids would be in school and not at camp.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Grace: [narrating] I read about this monkey that the Russian government sent into outer space. They figured that after a few weeks it would die because the heat from the sun would become unbearable. They said he journey would prove to be invaluable to the advancement of the space program. I wondered how they choose that monkey - that specific one. And why, if he was so special, would they put him in a situation where he could die? If that monkey knew what they were choosing him for, would ...
[...]

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Connections

Features Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

User Reviews

A great film that is , unfortunately, very relevant.

It's a difficult task to make a film about bullying , especially in today's world , with news on the TV of children who takes their own life after having being bullied.Bullying is , unfortunately , still very much relevant , perhaps more now then ever before.Twitter,Facebooks and the likes are new weapons used by bullies everyday. DJ Carusco tackles this difficult subject in a very subtle and intelligent way. Instead of concentrating on the pain that bullying cause , his film is more about overcoming bullying. The story is simple and to some similar to "Moonrise Kingdom" (Although I do find the comparison out of context). In the 80's (Although the film could have taken place any time , the director wisely decided not to overly use the 80's setting to avoid distracting audiences from the story itself) two kids at a camp , a boy and a girl who do not know each other , are victim of a vicious pranks by their fellow campers.They are stripped away of all their clothes and are left in the middle of an Island.The two kids eventually bond and decide to not stay for when the other campers come back to make fun of them or even worse take pictures of them as a "Trophy" , instead they run away and that is where the film and their adventures really begins. This film really feels like a journey , you see the kids slowly building confidence after each stop they take before getting back home , although at that point they are note sure what "home" will be. The two leads , Analise Basso and Chandler Canterbury (Who was also in the very good "A bag of hammers") are pitch perfect as Grace and Howie.They deliver a very true performance , they are absolutely believable , you absolutely believe this is happening to them.The dialogs also help a great deal , the kids speaks like normal kids , they don't have cheesy lines. I will spare you too much details because I do not want to risk spoiling the film for you but I must say , I rarely get teary eyed watching films but the last scene of "standing up" was an exception thanks to Analise Basso , this girl has a bright future ahead of her. I know this film was based on a very popular children book but I was not aware of this book so I cant really say how the film stand up when compared to the book. All I can say is that on it's own merit , this is a very heartfelt , sensitive , well executed , hopeful film and I urge parents to watch it with their kids or teachers to show it to their pupils because it might gives bullies a taste of what it is like on the other side of the spectrum. I am very sensitive to the subject of bullying and I feel this film , beside being really well made , is important.For theses reasons I give it a 9 out of 10 stars.