Nim's Island 2008
This is one of those low-budget movies where the actors got a free vacation if they would show up for a couple of days and read some lines. Maybe that’s not true, but it feels true. The writing is bad, the directing is bad, and the acting is bad. However, there is a decent story at the center and there are a few redeeming moments. When I saw it there was a group of tween-aged girls in the theater that giggled uproariously at all the silly moments. So I think for that age group, this could be a fun movie. Maybe women will like it since it involves a little girl and a very frazzled big girl, Jodie Foster, in a lot of slapstick. The lead actor, Gerard Butler, struggles with an American accent as the scientist father (is there some kind of shortage of good-looking American actors?). Looking him up afterwards, it turns out he is from Scotland and in a parallel role he is much better with his Scottish accent.
Nim’s Island is decidedly amateur, but if you want to take a group of sixth grade girls to a movie, this is probably the one to see. C-
Written: 19 Apr 2008