Stars: Bill Milner, Will Poulter and Jessica Stevenson. Director: Garth Jennings.
FOR those of us who lived through the 80s, it was the decade of leg warmers and Space Dust popping furiously on the tongue.
"Frankie
Says" T-shirts were the political statement of choice, while men
emulated the pastel linen suits of Miami Vice's Crockett and Tubbs.
Son
of Rambow is a delightful coming-of-age story harking back to those
days of kitsch attire, even kitscher pop music and Bucks Fizz losing
their skirts at Eurovision.
The adorable comedy centres on
lonely Will Proudfoot (Milner), whose mother Mary is a member of the
strictly religious Plymouth Brethren and forbids him from corruptive
influences like film, television and the radio.
Consequently, Will retreats from his classmates into his sketchbook, where he conjures imaginary worlds.
At school, Will meets troublemaker Lee (Poulter), who has been abandoned by his parents and lives with his older brother.
The young tykes spend the afternoon together, during which Will watches a pirate copy of Rambo: First Blood.
Inspired
to imitate Stallone's muscle-bound killing machine, Will secretly
agrees to perform death-defying stunts in Lee's homemade film, which
they hope to enter in a national competition.
Son of Rambow is
irresistibly charming, blessed with compelling performances from the
two leads - Milner the heart-breakingly vulnerable dreamer, Poulter the
cheeky rapscallion.
The script strikes a perfect balance
between laughter and tears building to a deeply moving finale that
warms the cockles of your nostalgic heart.
The boys' filmmaking escapades are hysterical and an eclectic pop sound-track is note perfect.
But it's the rapport between Milner and Poulter's loveable double-act that distinguishes this film.
"Parents, you're pretty much better off without them," declares Lee wisely.
Seeing how much fun the boys have, you wonder if he might not have a point. | 
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