Secondhand Lions Robuert Duvall and Michael Caine team up as the odd uncles in this fantastic tale of two old warhorses who end up babysitting a young boy. There are some good moments in the film with Duvall as Uncle Hub and Caine as Uncle Garth, which are funny or poignant. But the introduction of really foolish sequences into the screenplay destroys any meaningful emotional impact potentially waiting in the wings of the storyline.

Don't misunderstand. As a farce, this compares successfully with other movies of the same genre. However I think it aims too low. Considering the acting ability of the main characters, including the boy, Walter, played by Haley Joel Osment, the quality could have easily gone up a few notches.

The story telling methodology focuses on relationships, primarily the relationship that develops between the boy and his uncles. However the dramatic motivations for both initial and subsequent events in the screenplay are derived from the boy's negative relationship with his mother as well as the positive relationship between the two uncles. This latter relationship was implied more than demonstrated and that worked.

What didn't work were current events and action scenes more extreme than possible. These destroyed the believability of the story. It also sidetracked the theme, which was - live life to its fullest.

Reviewed July 5, 2005 Copyright 2005 Charles T. Markee

*MPAA Rated PG for thematic material, language and action violence. language and action violence.