Too much of everything

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Blistering performances.

This is a great Truman Capote story about a grifter that gets away with stealing money from poor country folk and an odd little girl who gets run over by the bus that's supposed to take her to Hollywood. It also contains perceptive observations about race relations in Depression era Alabama.The movie version has the horrible moppet catch the bad guy, return the stolen loot and get on the bus for fame and fortune. To add insult to injury Celine Dion sings over the closing credits. The racial themes are all but obliterated.Fans of Capote be warned that none of his wit or satire was retained for this film that plays like an after-school special.

This was a movie the whole family can watch. It is refreshing to see a movie that was very entertaining without an "R" Rating. I think the movie was fun. It had romance, comedy, drama, sadness all done well. The relationship between the characters had great romantic chemistry without being sexual. There were many funny parts such as when the kids were driving the truck and caught up to the crooks. There was drama when the townspeople loaded into trucks to go on a hunting spree, but there were no shot fired and bloodshed. It was sad when everyone was waiting for the transportation to Hollywood and the Pastor came and gave her the book. The movie reminded me of a simpler time when the town mechanic is also the sheriff and you call the police for missing roses.

I rented the DVD because I was simply in the mood to watch a movie, and I'd seen almost everything else new that hadn't already been rented out. So I gave "Children on Their Birthdays" a shot, not expecting too much.I was surprised to discover that I really enjoyed it. In fact, the day after I had watched it, I found myself thinking about the characters and smiling. So I bought the DVD and have watched it several times since then.I won't go into a detailed description, because that's already been done. But the characters are endearing. Despite a forced southern accent by Miss Lily Jane Bobbit, she is still the centerpiece of the movie. All the children performed wonderfully.The movie is a study in contrasts: Honesty vs. dishonesty, rural vs. urban, child vs. adult, etc. Overall, it's a movie deserving of a higher rating than it has received.I gave it an 8.

This was probably the best movie of 2002 and I've seen a lot this year. This movie had it all. A Bunch of Stars , the girl from "Malcom in the Middle", Weston Mueller from "One on One" , TWO boys from "Varsity Blues" and a bunch more... there is even Sheryl Lee, Tom Arnold and Christopher Mcdonald. Plus its a really funny movie. Its a new classic and brings a tear to the eye. It would make Truman Capote proud! So go see this movie. And there is a Celine Dion song at the end that you cant find any where else....So See it and Enjoy it!! : ) Peter