Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 82% (Critics) / 61% (Audience)
Directed By: Matthew Lillard
Written By: Michael M.B. Galvin, Peter Speakman
Starring: Jacob Wysocki, Matt O’Leary, Billy Campbell
Studio: Outsider Pictures

Synopsis: A dropout comes to the aid of a chubby and suicidal high-school kid by recruiting him as the drummer for his upstart punk-rock band. – (Source)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-SQ0pgjXm0
The Good:
This movie didn’t take any of the pat easy roads with this movie. The fat kid doesn’t get the hot girl, or become class president or any of the other fairy tale ending that you come to expect with this type of movie. Sure the ending is a happy one but it isn’t predictably so and that was refreshing.
Also refreshing was Jacob Wysocki as the titular fat kid, Troy…he did a great job playing all of the awkwardness and depression that his character was going through. Billy Campbell also stood out as Troy’s stern but caring father. Campbell took what could have been a very stock character and plays him with so many different interesting layers especially in how complicated relationship with Troy.
First time director Matt Lillard (best known for his acting work in SCREAM and the SCOOBY DOO movies) also does a very capable job directing this movie with a certain level of affection for the characters and material.

The Bad:
Matt O’Leary as Marcus, the degenerate drop-out who befriends Troy gives a good performance but the character is just so badly drawn that it is hard to buy him being anyone’s friend and even harder to fathom why anyone would want to be friends with him especially to the extent that Troy and his father get invested in Marcus.

The Ugly
Why the wardrobe department felt the need to constantly put Troy in shirts that were at least two sizes too small is a mystery to me.

Final Verdict: A nice coming of age story carried mostly by capable directing from actor Matthew Lillard and very good performances by Billy Campbell and Jacob Wysocki. Well worth a viewing.

Grade: B