watch the commercial for this movie and i be fairly convinced that i be go to loathe it . for one thing and it be one of those loosely base on the novel movie and which usually mean that the book author saw the script and hat it and and refuse to be associate with the film . bad and the trailer show only the most mundane slapstick imaginable ( ex represent kid get squirt in the face with a garden hose . and fall over ) . so when my little brother get it into his mind that this be the must see film of the season ( of course and he think the same thing about car and over the hedge and the ant bully and monster house and etc and etc ) and i be admittedly less than thrill . but once at the theater and the film win me over for a variety of reason . first and foremost and the writer capture kid dialogue well than just about any other child film i have ever see . a prime example of this come directly after the boy principal accidentally eat a worm stuck in an egg omelet . the boy do a lame and over exaggerated impression of the principal lecture them and which make it realistic since all little kid think ( mistakenly ) that they do great mock expression of their adult tormentor . then one of the boy asks and why do he say and alley oop . another boy respond and maybe he crazy . and the entire group laugh uproariously . not an overly witty rejoinder and but exactly the kind of thing a young kid would come up with on the spot and exactly the type of remark other kid his age would find hilarious . a if to confirm it and my kid brother laugh right on cue when they be speak on screen while i could practically hear his voice spout the same exact line if he be place in a similar situation . another reason the movie work be that the writer manage to work in issue like bullying and sibling relationship and the new kid in school and and peer pressure or conformity without make any of them seem a though they be subplots for some after school special . for example and the bully ( joe ) isn not stereotypical while he definitely bad but not pure evil and and just enough of his home life be reveal that the audience feel sympathy for him and understand his bullying origin . there also no cue the dramatic music moment where billy ( worm boy ) realize what a complete tool he be to his young brother woody and and yet and by the end of the movie and some type of minor transformation have be make . there some realism here in the way the character resolve situation and in the way they relate to each other and and very little of it come across a corny . the only drawback to the movie come in the form of an absolutely laughable dance scene that even the creator of the infamous mcdonald dance party in mac and me would scoff at . why oh why be it put into the movie . do austin rogers ( adam ) pull a macaulay culkin and refuse to take the role unless he be give a vehicle to showcase his oh so impressive dancing skill . the entire sequence definitely do not need to be there and have slightly less comedic value than any give show on the history channel . overall and though and this movie be excellent and and the length ( about an hour and twenty minute ) be just about perfect . one of the best and most realistic live action kid film you will ever see if youre ever around child or just remember what be a kid be actually like .