Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #697 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-08-11
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The clue to what Son Of Rambow is about is all in the title, minus that W, of course (which presumably keeps the lawyers at bay). For it’s the story of two young boys who, after watching Sylvester Stallone in action, decide that they can make a home movie addition to the Rambo saga, and ultimately set about to do just that.

This proves to be an inspired platform for one of the best British comedies of recent years. Directed by Garth Jennings (who also helmed the big screen adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy), Son Of Rambow is actually at heart the exploration of a friendship between two young boys in the 1980s, and the highs and lows that go along with it.

Most, but not all, of the chuckles come from the reimagining of Rambo (replete with stunts and plenty of action), but Son Of Rambow also packs in some poignant, affecting drama without ever feeling like it’s in any way overstaying its welcome. And with a musical backing that catches the flavour of the 80s pretty much perfectly, this is a treat of a movie, and a very British one at that. Don’t miss it. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
Writer-director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith, who as Hammer & Tongs have made music videos for such groups as Fatboy Slim, Supergrass, Blur, and REM, follow up their 2005 film, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, with the charming indie SON OF RAMBOW, a love letter to the movies.

SON OF RAMBOW stars Bill Milner as Will Proudfoot, a shy, reserved young boy who is different from the other kids because his family is part of the Brethren, a religion that shuns the outside world, not allowing him to have friends at school or to watch television. While in the hallway in school one day because he can't watch an educational film in class, Will gets into a fight with Lee Carter (Will Poulter), a tough kid who gets into trouble all the time. Lee forces Will to help him make a homemade version of the Sylvester Stallone film FIRST BLOOD, but after watching the original, Will is captivated by the movie and writes his own sequel, casting himself as the son of Rambo (he misspells the name of the character). Will and Lee use their imagination and lots of grit to get the project off the ground, bonding as only blood brothers can. But soon the entire school wants to participate in the movie, including ultra-cool French exchange student Didier Revol (Jules Sitruk), jeopardizing the integrity of the production as well as Will and Lee's growing friendship.
Milner and Poulter, both making their feature-film debuts, are engaging as the lead characters. Jennings sets SON OF RAMBOW in the 1980s, before cell phones, digital cameras, and YouTube changed the way people communicate. Amid a soundtrack that includes music from such seminal period bands as the Cure and Depeche Mode, the two young boys learn about family and friendship, jealousy and ego as their carefully controlled worlds threaten to implode.

Customer Reviews

Ram Bad
Set in 80s England, "Son of Rambow" charts the relationship between a shy boy, Will, brought up in a strict religious sect that shuns popular culture, and a young tearaway, Lee, who is obsessed with First Blood and with amateur film-making.

I'd heard good things in various reviews about this movie but was disappointed throughout. The plotting is scarce and uninvolving, the set pieces desperately unfunny, and the acting really quite poor, with the exception of a couple of the minor adult characters.

A film the entire family could enjoy together
Set in the 1980s with a school background, two very different boys, one from a Plymouth Brethren family, the other street wise and allowed to run wild, come together when the "nasty rough boy" needs an actor to play Rambo in his home movie. We soon realise the boys are more similar than first appears: Will, the shy religious boy, has no father; while Lee the brash loudmouth lives a lonely life with his uncaring brother.

Some of the funniest moments in the film take place in the school, particularly relating to the French exchange students and the super-cool Didier. I loved the scene where one of the teachers is doing things with a mirror, his nose hairs and a pair of scissors - you just know its going to end badly - and yes, it does.

Neither of the boys acts outstandingly, there is no really satisfactory conclusion to Will's mother decision to lose her self-righteous suitor (I was hoping she would end up in make up and heels and horrify him), and the ending is a bit of a damp squib; but it's a thoroughly likeable film and unusually, one the entire family could enjoy together.

Entertaining comedy with a heart and some touching moments
"Son Of Rambow" is an early-1980s-set film about Will, a boy whose family follows a strict religious regimen banning all television and music, as well as the compulsory attendance of Brethren meetings. As repayment for an unruly boy named Lee taking the full blame after the two boys have a fight in the school corridors, he must be a stuntman in Lee's home-made film, which is inspired by the film "First Blood". Lee wants to enter it in a short film competition on a then-popular TV series called "Screen Test".

Whilst suffering the trials and tribulations of film-making and school, they actually learn some important lessons about friendship and loyalty along the way, and it is precisely this that makes the film something special.

Good performances all around, some amusing slapstick and some great 80s songs also add to the charm. It's only really let down by a slowish start and one or two anachronisms.

Rated 12 by the BBFC due to moderate language, smoking and dangerous behaviour.