Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2016)

After his principal (Andy Daly) destroys his sketchbook, Rafe (Griffin Gluck) and his best friend Leo (Thomas Barbusca) decide to "destroy his book" and break every rule in the school's Code of Conduct.

Director:

Steve Carr

Writers:

Chris Bowman (screenplay by), Hubbel Palmer (screenplay by)

Stars:

Griffin Gluck, Lauren Graham, Alexa Nisenson

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Griffin Gluck	...	Rafe
Lauren Graham	...	Jules
Alexa Nisenson	...	Georgia
Andrew Daly	...	Principal Dwight (as Andy Daly)
Thomas Barbusca	...	Leo
Retta	...	Ida Stricker
Adam Pally	...	Mr. Teller
Luke Hardeman	...	Shon (as Luke Christopher Hardeman)
Jessi Goei	...	Bella
Jacob Hopkins	...	Miller
Patrick Fagan	...	Boy Candidate
Isabela Moner	...	Jeanne
Isabella Amara	...	Heidi
Madeleine Stack	...	Girl at Assembly #2
Efren Ramirez	...	Gus

Storyline

Imaginative quiet teenager Rafe Katchadorian is tired of his middle school's obsession with the rules at the expense of any and all creativity. Desperate to shake things up, Rafe and his best friends have come up with a plan: break every single rule in the school and let the students run wild.

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Plot Keywords:

mother son relationship | brother sister relationship | middle school | teenager | daughter hates mother's boyfriend | 

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Taglines:

Rules aren't for everyone

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for rude humor throughout, language and thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Cambodia

Language:

English Khmer

Release Date:

7 October 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los peores años de mi vida

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,878,437, 9 October 2016, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$19,985,196, 25 November 2016

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,611,649, 27 November 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS Films, James Patterson Entertainment, Participant Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Exterior shots of the school were filmed at the Atlanta International School.

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Goofs

When Rafe first arrives at the school, the principal stops him for breaking rule 22 - the dress code. However, when Rafe goes into the school [and later into the classrooms] it is obvious that he is not the only student failing to comply with the dress code as many of the other students are also wearing clothes that would violate rule 22. The principal, however, does not press on with the rule to the other students.

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Quotes

Leo: I figured your other one, may it rest in peace, was almost full, so, you probably need another one.
Rafe: It's awesome, man. Thank you. But... I mean, all my best stuff was in my last sketchbook. Comics, inventions.
Leo: Expertly drawn boobs.
Rafe: Those were realistic.

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Connections

References A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

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Soundtracks

TONIGHT
Written by Scott Stewart, Stephen Gomez and John Gomez
Performed by Animal Island
Courtesy of Position Music

User Reviews

Fun, adorable, and heartwarming

#MiddleSchoolMovie made me cry. I didn't expect the story to be so sad, but it really was, and it's all in a good way. The film is fun, adorable, heartwarming and it just makes you want to hold your loved ones closer than ever. There needs to be more and more movies like this.

The story is quite simple, it's about this young kid named Rafe (Griffin Gluck) who has an active imagination. He loves drawing stuff on his notebook and the characters come to life in this quirky animation which is part of the film's appeal. But Andrew Daly's character, the school principal is anti-creativity, so he's always on Rafe's case. So Rafe strikes back with all kinds of hilarious pranks. But at home, his mom is dating a jerk of a boyfriend who's giving him and his sister a hard time. So all in all, it hasn't been a good school year for Rafe, not to mention his family is still trying to recuperate from a certain tragedy.

Without spoiling any important plot points, let me just say that the fun parts are fun and the dramatic parts are truly dramatic, this is not a movie that insults anybody's intelligence just because it's a PG movie for younger viewers. Based on James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts' novel that I haven't read yet, but this film sure motivates me to buy a copy, what I think makes MIDDLE SCHOOL effective is that the comedy aspect isn't mean to get your guard down, and the emotional aspect isn't quickly dropped like some kind of anvil. It also opens your eyes, you realize that even a middle-schooler can go through a lot We sometimes underestimate them, we often forget that those formative years are crucial to a human being and so I think the film does a good job of showing that.

Actor Andrew Daly has played this type of douchebag authoritative role before and so has Rob Riggle in a role of a jerk, so both actors are comfortable in their element, they know what they're doing and they got it down to a science. It's absolute pure joy watching them do what they do best even if we may not like their characters. Kudos to all the kid actors as well, especially Griffin Gluck and Alexa Nisenson who seem so effortless in their performances. What other actors may have to learn for years in order to get to that point of exposing their emotions and shedding it for the screen, these kids make it seem like a walk in the park 'cause they wear it on their sleeves. What an incredible talent for such a young age. This movie's got tons of animation as well that will be sure to put a smile on your face. You will come out of the theater a much better person than when you were when you enter in. That's how surprisingly positive and powerful this film is.

-- Rama's Screen --