The Battle of Shaker Heights Movie Review 2003

Disappointing sophomore effort from the HBO series Project Greenlight, backed once again by producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Kelly Ernswiler (LaBeouf) is bright, middle-class Midwestern teen whose hobby is military re-enactment. He becomes best friends with Bart (Henson) after "saving his life" in a mock battle. He soon develops a crush on Bart's older sister Tabby, an engaged Yale grad student, much to the dismay of his supermarket co-worker Sarah (Appleby). This only adds to Kelly's mounting problems, which include myriad family problems with ex-addict dad (Sadler) and "art" entrepreneur mom (Quinlan). LaBeouf is appealing, rising above the disjointed, uninspired mess. If there is another "Project," they should look for a director who will provide satisfying drama on the big screen as well as on the show.

Distribution

Not Yet Released

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 85 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Coming of Age, Teen Angst, Otherwise Engaged, Family Drama

Screenplay

Erica Beeney

Cast

Shia LaBeouf, Elden (Ratliff) Henson, Amy Smart, Billy Kay, Shiri Appleby, Kathleen Quinlan, William Sadler, Ray Wise, Anson Mount, Philipp Karner

Cinematography

Thomas Ackerman

Director

Kyle Rankin, Efram Potelle

Music

Richard (Rick) Marvin

Other

Mike Florimbi, Pete Soldinger, Richard Nord, Bega Metzner, Lisa K. Sessiona

Producer

Chris Moore, Jeff Balis, LivePlanet, Miramax Films