Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2016)

The part when the Principal was saying some rules, like the ones No Going to the Bathroom and No After School Activities. When he said cutting the A.V. Club and when he said that, Jeanne ( Isabela Moner, 14 ) said "Oh sh-- " and it was cut off. It was also funny with the cartoon like characters in the movie.

This is what happens when SJW writers and producers fail to recognize what they're seeing is their own reflection on the inside of their bubble. Instead of allowing the movie to be kids having fun for the sake of fun they had to project leftist political agenda into it. I actually looked to see if the DNC were listed in the credits along with teachers unions, NOW and Antifa. The message is clear fathers are deadbeats, mothers are saints, testing is bad, discipline destroys creativity, hispanics are heroes, vandalism is art and men are cretins.This movie is a prime example of SJWs taking something with great potential and ruining it by turning it into preachy virtue signalling bigotry. No wonder I never heard of it until I saw it on cable. I hope they lose a ton of money on it like everything else SJWs ruin.

Amazing movie. Great soundtrack, jokes and staging. This movie would be great by itself but living up to a book that it doesn't follow the backstory of is what lets it down.Leo, Rafes brother, was Rafes twin and died when they were born. Georgia was adopted after Leo had passed. Georgia has blond hair and a hip deformation. They neglected other parts of not only the title book but "My brother is a big fat liar" as well.Still a great movie regardless but it was really a let down.

As I've said a thousand times before, the lack of live-action comedies for the younger members of our society saddens me. In the '90s, when I grew up, you couldn't get away from them. It was awesome. But nowadays, pre-teens' only options for movies are of the superhero variety. Or some other big budget franchise. Unless they merely want to watch animated films with characters that aren't human. And I'm not knocking computer animation. It's just that during a time when empathy is getting further and further away, it's nice for kids to see "tangible" characters that they can actually relate to.And there have been some good live-action options for kids semi-lately. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, for example, was perfect. But many others dumb themselves down for children. And when this happens, you lose the parents as well.Middle School isn't like that. It's full of quality humor and an engaging storyline that will find both kids and adults laughing out loud--the latter might even be surprised with how much they like it.The film follows Rafe (Griffin Gluck), a middle schooler who's been inexplicably kicked out of his previous two schools. His active imagination, along with problems with authority, get him into trouble. Especially at his new school, where the principal (Andrew Daly) acts as a warden, creating asinine rules. The kids aren't allowed to talk in the hallways, wear colorful clothes, or even draw pictures.Rafe isn't having any of this nonsense and wages a war with his principal in a Home Alone-type of way. It's highly entertaining seeing what he comes up with and how his life progresses with those around him, including his best friend, Leo (Thomas Barbusca), his sister Georgia (Alexa Nisenson), and his cool insouciant teacher, Mr. Teller (Adam Pally).And with the quality talents of Rob Riggle, who plays Rafe's borderline-abusive future stepfather, and Daly, Middle School has humor for young and old.Yeah, the script has some issues with a couple of jarring tonal shifts, but it also refreshingly surprises us when we least expect it.I have a hard time knocking a film that does its job. It never talks down to kids--in fact, it gets kids all too well. There isn't some over-exaggeration of how much they use their phones. Even the banter feels lifelike. It speaks to adolescents who are at that "middle" stage between childhood and responsibility-hood. It's a fun time that most of us took for granted. But Middle School pleasantly brings us back so we can live it over again with Rafe--in a stunningly committed first-person narrative.This film isn't just going through the motions, folks. There's a lot of genuine intent throughout. Plot points and jokes that are obviously very well meditated upon. While sitting and watching this movie, I legitimately thought to myself, "This isn't just a moneymaker for them--they actually want it to be good." Even if it were among the other classic live-action kid films of yesteryear, I would still go out of my way to watch it. I wish I had this movie when I was growing up. But at least I have it now.Twizard Rating: 89