As a grown man, it is rare for me to like kid's movies and/or like the same kid's movies as much as I did before. Some of them I still like just because of the nostalgia feel--I don't think I would have liked some if I saw them for the first time today. Max Keeble's Big Move is not one of those. I think I would have loved this movie regardless of my age and intellect.

This movie feature a few stars along with future stars that were still making their names. It stars Home Alone 3's Alex D Linz as the title character and a fat Josh Peck as his best friend Robe. Because I love this movie so much, I may always see Peck as a fat nerd. It also features Larry Miller, Nora Dunn, Jamie Kennedy, Zena Grey, Orlando Brown, Noel Fisher and Robert Carradine.

The movie is about Max entering the 7th grade, where he must be subjected to bullies, peer pressure and an odd faculty. Max's salesman father (Carradine) gets news that he must move to Chicago and Max is shocked. But he soon sees it as an opportunity to enact revenge on all those wrong with the school. Things take a turn for the worst when the school suffers even more and Max finds out he doesn't have to move after all. Uh-oh!

The first thing this has that is needed for a bully movie is the sense of realism and comedy. Max Keeble is able to find the perfect balance between these. The comedy never runs out of fuel and it is there to make everything that much better. Max's plans for revenge are so funny and genius. There's one scene where he starts a food fight to make Principal Jindrake (Miller) look bad. I would honestly say it is the best food fight ever filmed; better than Animal House, Problem Child 2 and others. There's many other scenes that make this wonderful.

Max Keeble was back in the days when characters in family movies were made with such depth and like-ability. Max is a preteen who is trying to figure out the world and think he is doing well, when it really just makes everything worse for everybody. These characters give good lessons on bullying, revenge and egos. Just because he thinks he won't be there to be punished, Max let's his whole revenge scheme get to his head and thinks he's the greatest. All he did was stoop to the other bullies' level, making him the worst of them all. What happens to Max is very common. I could relate to all characters, not just Max.

4/4

Max Keeble's Big Move is meant to be stupid 8-12 year old fun, and I suppose on that level kids can go see it and have fun, but for some of them, and all of the people older than the target audience, will definitely get impatient with this movie which gives junior high schoolers more credit than they're worth.

For instance, there is a part when Max Keeble has to put up with the school bully who was once his friend, but now is a doofus who doesn't get higher than a D-, but then how can he so cleverly find ways to humiliate him (and even Max, who might be given too much smarts in the movie, is smart enough to strike back later on)?

I guess I'm just not cut out for these movies anymore, but it still might puzzle some of the junior high schoolers who aren't nearly as wise as the ones depicted here (it will puzzle all the adults though I bet).

One note though: Larry Miller is one of the only reasons to take a quick 5 minute peek at the movie to see him act sort of funny, in a Larry Miller way.

Max Keeble's Big Move (2001): Dir: Tim Hill / Cast: Alex D. Lenz, Larry Miller, Zena Grey, Jamie Kennedy, Josh Peck: Family film that should have made a big move into a trash bin. It stars Alex D. Linz who makes a big move in dealing with bullies at school as well as his parents making the decision to move. His father dresses up in silly costumes for an advertizing job while his mother is a perfectionist. If that is the case then perhaps she should have directed this film and re- write the screenplay. His friends include an overweight kid who eats off the ground, and a flute playing girl played by Zena Grey. Josh Peck plays another one of his moron friends. Lame plot regards the destruction of an animal shelter in favor of a football stadium. Why not the destruction of the production of this sh*t film. This leads to a stupid climax where the kids rebel. Directed by the not very good Tim Hill who made the irritating Muppets From Space. Linz is still stuck in Home Alone 3 mode. Larry Miller is typecast as a principal. Jamie Kennedy is embarrassing as the ice cream man. There is a wall street kid who carries around a brief case, and there is a bully traumatized by a frog suit. It cannot be near as traumatizing as being part of this stupid film. Theme of standing up for oneself situated with pathetic juvenile humour. It should cause viewers to make the big move to the nearest exit. Score: 1 / 10