Barnes & Noble

"I've fought in two world wars and countless smaller ones on three continents. I've led thousands of men into battle…. I've seen the headwaters of the Nile and tribes no white man had ever seen before. I've won and lost a dozen fortunes, and loved only one woman." What a treat it is to hear Robert Duvall roar in this heartwarming coming-of-age saga (reportedly based on Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson's childhood). Shy and sheltered Walter (Haley Joel Osment) has one of those fabled, only-in-the-movies summers spent in the nurturing company of his two uncles. Duvall and Michael Caine star as Hub and Garth, cantankerous old coots who live out in the sticks with no phone or television and delight in taking potshots at a parade of traveling salesmen. They reluctantly agree to take the boy in after his irresponsible mother deposits him on their doorstep. Walter is regaled by incredible tales of the brothers' rollicking exploits, in particular Hub's adventures in the Foreign Legion and his love of a desert princess. As in Big Fish, Walter will learn how much of these tales is tall and how much is true. Less interesting is the hubbub concerning the ill-gotten millions the brothers supposedly have stashed around their farm. At the heart of Secondhand Lions is the wisdom the indefatigable Hub imparts to Walter in his signature "What Every Boy Needs to Know About Being a Man" speech. Fair warning that tears will be jerked by film's end, but with its simple-life nostalgia, colorful characters, and crowd-pleasing scenes (as when Hub dispatches a quartet of taunting, leather-jacketed hooligans), Secondhand Lions soars as one of the year's very best family films. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

In this family-friendly comedy drama, Walter (Haley Joel Osment) is a shy and bookish boy just short of his teens whose mother impulsively decides to leave him for the summer with his eccentric grand-uncles, Hub (Robert Duvall) and Garth (Michael Caine). Walter isn't especially happy about being left in the middle of Texas with two old men, while Hub and Garth aren't too pleased to be stuck minding a boy, especially one who isn't accustomed to hunting, fishing, or firearms. When Walter starts hearing local gossip about his uncles' wild and wooly pasts, he begins asking a few questions, and while Hub and Garth don't enjoy having the boy poking into their pasts, as they start telling tales of their youthful adventures, they find themselves itching for some new adventures in their lives. Soon Walter is a semi-willing accomplice as his elderly guardians rediscover the wild, impulsive spirit of youth. Secondhand Lions was produced in part by the well-respected visual effects house Digital Domain, who also helped create the imagery for the film's flashback sequences. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 794043132919
• Source: NEW LINE HOME VIDEO
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English
• Time: 1:49:00
• Sales Rank: 28,796

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