COMEDY; 1hr 29min
STARRING: Jimmy Bennett, James Spader, Leslie Mann, Jon Cryer, William H. Macy
Toe hold: from left, Bennett, Mann and Cryer
Writer-director Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids) is full-to-bursting with beans in his latest kid-friendly diversion: Black Falls primary-school outcast Toe Thompson (Orphan’s Bennett) is bullied to within an inch of his friendless life at the outset, but the atmosphere is still all bounce bounce bounce to the ounce. And when Toe gets his hands on a wish-granting rock, the buzz level switches into Grand Prix circuit overdrive.
If anyone could use a wishing rock, it’s Toe and his harassed parents (Mann and Cryer), driven to distraction by their beastly electronics corporation boss (Spader). But wishes granted right and left can tip everything on its axis. You could find yourself plagued by weeny aliens, say, or chased and devoured by large reptiles. Or menaced by a giant booger. Or soldered at the hip for a company do. Which is basically what befalls Toe and the gang, as told in a series of flashy, screwy, out-of-kilter episodes. It’s enough to make you wish you had rocks in your head.
