Little Men (2016)

I was expecting the movie to be more about the kids, but it was mostly about their horrible parents.Tony's mom was dumb, rude, and sexist. Jake's dad needed money that was rightfully his to support his family. He tried to be as reasonable as he could and offered her a fair deal, which he was not legally obligated to do. She argues that she doesn't owe him anything, even though she does, and continuously insults him. She claims that his father cared more about her and thought it was wrong for a woman to financially support her husband. When she finds out his family needs the money she says that it's not her problem, even though it technically is. She also brings her son down into the feud.Jake's dad is not much better. He evicts Jake's best friend without considering how it would affect Jake. He doesn't want Jake to hang out with the only friend he has. When he yelled at Jake in the car, I wanted to kill him. He calls Jake selfish when all Jake wants is to keep his best friend. He gives no regard to his own actions. He even insults Tony's acting skills. He is supposed to be the adult, but his son was the real adult in the family. I was disappointed at the end when Jake apologized to his father, as if he did something wrong.I loved the kids. They were both really lovable characters and really cute. I admired their friendship and that they didn't let anything destroy their friendship even when their parents actively tried to. If this movie focused just on the two of them, it could have been great.

Today there are few American writers who consistently churn out scripts that can be classified as true art films. Ira Sachs is one such writer; with his sensitive eye, he manages to observe true to life characters and present their conflicts in a non-bombastic manner. In the past Sachs has focused on exclusively gay protagonists, but they always have reflected universal themes. Such was the case with his last film, the excellent "Love is Strange," where two middle-aged gay men are forced to live apart after they lose their apartment under unfortunate circumstances.Little Men, a lower stakes effort in comparison to Love is Strange, focuses on a friendship between two pre-pubescent boys that is also threatened by unfortunate circumstances, albeit of a much different variety. When the Jardine family consisting of Brian (Greg Kinnear), a not too successful actor, his wife Kathy (Jennifer Ehle), a psychotherapist and family bread-winner, along with their son, 13 year old Jake (Theo Taplitz), a soft-spoken aspiring artist/illustrator, move into an apartment in Brooklyn after inheriting it from Brian's recently deceased Dad, Brian is forced to make a difficult decision regarding Leonor (Paulina Garcia), who rented store space from Brian's dad way below market price.Leonor also has a 13 year old son, Tony (Michael Barbieri), who immediately bonds with Jake. The aforementioned friendship is threatened when Brian is forced to ask Leonor to pay a much higher rent. Leonor unreasonably feels that since she had a close relationship with Brian's Dad, Brian should cut her some slack. Meanwhile, Brian's sister is also pressuring him to demand that Leonor start paying closer to market rent.The bulk of Act 2 chronicles Jake and Tony's relationship as well as how Brian must explain to Jake why he's putting pressure on Leonor. In addition to the unique narrative regarding the rent dispute, the father- son interactions are a cautionary tale for any young person who believes life follows a pre-determined script and there are no bumps in the road.Little Men isn't as strong when it comes time to wrap things up. In a sense, Sachs becomes boxed in by his story since it's a little too true to life. As you might guess, Leonor ends up with no more cards to play and is forced to give up the store. That of course leads to the dissolution of Tony and Jake's friendship. I kind of wanted to know what happened to Leonor but Sachs chooses not to go into that. We're left with Tony and Jake, both now attending LaGuardia High School but no longer friends or interacting with one another. On a hopeful note, Jake appears to pursue his artistic career despite earlier self-doubts.In the end, the story of the short-lived burgeoning relationship between Tony and Jake is a low-stakes exercise. When Sachs dealt with the separation of two long-time gay lovers in Love is Strange, that was ultimately a tragedy. Here, Tony and Jake knew each other for such a short time, and their ultimate separation strikes one as something that doesn't appear too crushing. Nonetheless, with some great acting from all the principals, and an original plot, Sachs manages to keep us pretty much absorbed until the end. If the stakes are indeed minor, the entire piece is still conveyed in a sophisticated and enlightening way.

There are three main types of movies, good ones, bad ones and ones that are overlooked by the public. Yes, it is not a masterpiece and has flaws, but still I enjoyed watching this and I was shocked to see the IMDb rating and the box office result. Though independent movies like this don't make much back it still should of made it's 2 million budget. The performance were almost all good, with the exception of a few, it was well paced so I could truly experience the chemistry growth between the two children who come from two entirely different backgrounds.To conclude it is an underrated movie that brings out a range of emotions, but yes it is not perfect.

"The neighborhoods changing." Brian Jardine (Kinnear) is a struggling actor who has just lost his father. He heads to Brooklyn for the funeral and to deal with his fathers estate. He discovers that a small business was costing his father money, and is unable to continue the same deal. This causes tension with him and the owner of the business, which is further enhanced by the fact that Brian's son and the son of the owner are best friends. This is a really good movie that makes you think. You really struggle to decide who is in the right and can see both sides equally. The dynamic of the adults and the kids relationships are really fleshed out and are the true heart of the movie. That said, the movie could have been really good but it stayed a little monotone and the end just kind of happened. When you watch this you will see what I mean. Overall, the acting and writing are good, but it felt a little flat at some parts and really just came to an abrupt end, which hurt the movie a little bit. I disappointingly give this a B-.