Will Proudfoot is a shy young boy and imaginative writer. His widower mother Mary (Jessica Hynes) is extremely religious. Their church pickets outside the theater showing Rambo's First Blood. On the other hand, Lee Carter is a ne'er-do-well pirating the movie inside the theater. The cigarette-smoking juvenile delinquent Lee Carter gets them both in trouble and lies to Will to get him working on his movie. Will rewrites the character as the son of Rambo. There are new French foreign exchange students and the English kids all fall for Didier Revol who soon gathers a cadre of followers. Lee gets suspended. Despite having girls lined up to kiss him, Didier is bored and gets Will to put him in the movie. There is a change in the power dynamic between Will and Lee.
Lee Carter comes off as a real jerk for more than half of the movie. The two boys' relationship needs a bit more massaging. Lee needs to show more vulnerability at the beginning and a couple of touches of actual friendship with Will. It keeps the comedy from really elevating when I hate the lead character who is suppose to be appealing. There is an overall love of movie-making and a joy of a coming-of-age movie.
Lee Carter comes off as a real jerk for more than half of the movie. The two boys' relationship needs a bit more massaging. Lee needs to show more vulnerability at the beginning and a couple of touches of actual friendship with Will. It keeps the comedy from really elevating when I hate the lead character who is suppose to be appealing. There is an overall love of movie-making and a joy of a coming-of-age movie.