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Written by Knight Ridder
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Wednesday, 10 May 2006 |
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Page 1 of 2 
Hoot
Two stars out of four
Luke Wilson, Robert Wagner
PG/1hr 30 mins
By Carrie Rickey
For three middle-schoolers in the fictional Florida town of Coconut Cove, nature always trumps tummy. They give a hoot, which is why these teenage eco-warriors fight the developers clearing an owl habitat to build yet another Mother Paula’s All-American Pancake House.
In this installment of Smart Kids, Foolish Franchisers, the fight isn’t fair, but it sure is funny.
Based on the charming young-adult novel by Florida bard Carl Hiaasen, “Hoot” is a pleasant diversion on the order of a gloriously photographed after-school special. It boasts original songs from Sunshine State troubadour Jimmy Buffett, who also produced the film and has a small role as a laid-back marine-biology teacher.
I should say that my 9-year-old escort (who loves the book) was much more enthusiastic about the film, in which 14-year-old suburban guerrillas stand up to corporate America.
Roy Eberhardt (Logan Lerman) is a new transplant to the Sunshine State. The Montana mountain kid is ignorant of Florida fauna and flora and probably wouldn’t know a manatee from a mangrove. But as a bully smashes his face into the window of a school bus, Roy can’t fail to notice a fleet-footed surfer boy outrunning the vehicle.
His curiosity about the boy, Mullet Fingers (Cody Linley), leads Roy to Beatrice (Brie Larson), an eighth grader so fearsome that the school bully cowers in her presence. Beatrice, who is something of a babe, is Running Boy’s stepsister, and they have a secret. They’re the ones moving surveyor’s sticks so that Aunt Paula’s won’t displace endangered owls on a leafy patch of Gulf Coast green.
Under the innocuous direction of Wil Shriner, the teenagers are charming and the adults are clueless. Charmingly clueless in the case of Luke Wilson as Officer Delinko. Quirkily so in the case of Tim Blake Nelson as construction foreman Curly Branitt. Charmlessly so in the case of Clark Gregg as Cutthroat Corporate Guy, who just might be the scariest figure in a kids’ film since Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West in “The Wizard of Oz.”
One wishes that a film about the fight against a bland restaurant chain were more piquant. But movies for tweens, like burrowing owls, are an endangered species that need preservation.
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
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|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
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|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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