Movie Review: The Battle of Shaker Heights

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for language and some drug references.)

Stars (Out of 10): 6

One Word Summary: Shia

Full Review:

           The Battle of Shaker Heights is a new movie based on the innovative HBO series Project Greenlight; this series follows the process of making a movie from the selection of a script and director, all the way to the film's premier. This year's script was The Battle of Shaker Heights, a movie about a young war reenactor who also has a few battles of his own to fight. On the battlefield, Kelly Ernswiler has all the moves, but in real life he's as confused as anyone. He has a crush on his friend's older sister, doesn't know what to do about a school bully, and has to deal with his ex-drug addict father whom Kelly can't seem to forgive.

                  This is a two part review, both of the TV series and the movie it led up to. I was a huge fan of the first Greenlight show, and even enjoyed its movie (Stolen Summer). When this year's show came on I was tremendously excited. The show was great, but the thing about a TV series is that for people to watch it you need drama… and for there to be drama you have to make the movie look like crap. It's a double edged sword; which would you rather have people watch, the show or the movie. Judging from the limited release and the success of the show, I think Miramax and HBO made their choice.

                  The Battle of Shaker Heights was a pleasant surprise. It was much better than I would have expected, but not quite as good as I hoped. During the series there were a lot of arguments about how they wanted to market the movie, as a comedy or as a drama. The directors supported a drama because they didn't have the material for a comedy, but in the end they lost and were forced to make the funniest movie they could. Well, Kyle and Efram were right; there weren't enough laughs to make it a comedy. At one point in the movie Kelly asks his friend who had attempted a joke, was that a joke because I couldn't recognize it, jokes are usually funny. I have the same thing to ask The Battle of Shaker Heights, was it a comedy because comedies are usually funny.

                  Shaker Heights isn't completely lacking in humor, but it's a good thing the script is good enough to survive without many laughs. The drama that's left in the movie flows well, but you can tell that a lot of the story has been cut and it seems empty during some scenes. The cast is wonderful, especially Shia LaBeouf who proves he can be a star on more than just the Disney channel.

                  The Battle of Shaker Heights' best quality is its great story. Some people want it to seem like a teen comedy, but that's not what it is. It's a dramatic story, with likable characters and great writing. This script and Erica Beeney more specifically, prove that Project Greenlight is a great thing for Hollywood. I would be interested to see how the movie would be different if Beeney had directed as well, because throughout the show she repeatedly said how the movie wasn't what she hoped it would be. Well it was good enough for me and I see it as a distinguished first effort, I hope there are more to come.