Son of Rambow | DVD Review

A nostalgic trip back into a time when kids starting playing around with the notion of filmmaking on video recording devices, this comedy works as a paean to growing up in the 80’s and fond childhood memories of boys being boys. Full of mischief, a great ensemble of characters and a salute to that sense of amazement and imager that seemed infinite at such a young age, Garth Jennings’ Son of Rambow might work best with adults looking to take a time machine journey back, but on homevid front works as a welcomed addition to the family DVD collection.

Shortly after a popular screening at Sundance in 07, Paramount Vantage aggressively sought the rights to the charmer, fending off the other indie distribs, but the film about filmmaking and friendship was unfortunately stalled due to the negotiations on getting the rights to the film clips from Rambo: First Blood. Sylvester Stallone would undoubtedly give his blessings to the film, and hence the long-delayed picture received a May 2008 slot. It made a sound 2 million with a limited release pattern never exceeding 200 theater mark, but the rating it received probably hindered it from gaining a foothold in the younger demo. Obviously, the content is from a child’s POV but its plays fairly well for the adult moviegoer. In the U.K, the pic had a great performance at the box office, but for the U.S market though the critical reaction was one that was favorable, it failed to receive a resounding vote of confidence that could have given it a better theatrical result.


Commentary by director Garth Jennings, producer Nick Goldsmith and actors Will Poulter and Bill Milner
A standard commentary track is made a lot more enjoyable by including the film’s two bright stars. Jennings details some of the technical details, and some anecdotal notes such as filming out of a home that once belonged to Stanley Kubrick. Seems like they had a jolly good time making the film and the same sort of energy transpires in this track.

Garth’s Short Film: “Aron”, which was the inspiration for SON OF RAMBOW
A young Jennings casts a bunch of neighborhood kids and gets an adult to drive the getaway car in a story of a celeb general/officer played by Jennings who gets abducted and then saved by his commando buddy. The pacing is great, old computer paper title scroll and the score are chuckle-worthy, and combats take place in backyards and round the hedges.

Boys Will Be Boys: The Making of SON OF RAMBOW
The 25 minute feature filmed from Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith’s work place for prod co. Hammer & Tongs, an old barge molded into a spacious pad is the setting for a roundtable discussion. This takes pieces of that convo and plenty of footage of the behind the scenes moments on the film set. The six year project was actually conceived before Hitchhiker’s Guide, but no one wanted to touch the picture. They mostly discuss the casting process, how they found all the actors and the two leads and the two boys named William get to relive what they did during a full summer holiday – making a movie. Not too shabby.

SON OF RAMBOW short film contest winner
Contest winners The Dunn family make a great secret operative short – filled with great camera angles, zoom shots and perfectly executed tactical action maneuvers.

Rambow reminds of Danny Boyle’s Millions, both plunge viewers into a land where make-believe contributes in large part to one’s overall development and curiosity. This is a rare breed among films about filmmaking, it not only documents a friendship from the starting point but it affectionately details childhood with the sappiness. After directing his debut with The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the musicvid filmmaker thankfully dusted off this project, showing that Jennings might flesh out more storyline ideas with a similar childlike wonder.

Movie rating – 3.5

Disc Rating – 3.5