DVD Review: The Adventures of Food Boy
What Parents Should Know
Parents need
to know that this movie is not for those with weak stomachs --
it has lots of theatrical (though mercifully camouflaged)
vomiting and dares to eat disgusting food combinations. Male
characters anchor the action while two appealing girl actors
are reduced to decorative sidekicks. A grandma, dad, and son
make up the main family unit, and a multicultural group of
friends sticks together.
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Families can talk about the pressure Ezra feels to do things in order to pad his college resume, rather than because he wants to. How important do you think it is to get into the "right" college? Ezra's "super" skills are decidedly practical when compared to flying or disappearing -- what other kind of useful superheroes can you imagine?
Featuring a cast plucked en masse from various Disney Channel properties, THE ADVENTURES OF FOOD BOY plays to its built-in following. Ezra (Lucas Grabeel) is a geek who sees running for junior class president both as a route to popularity and as an accomplishment that will get him into an Ivy League college. His plans are thrown for a loop when he learns he's inherited the family superpower: the ability to make food appear in his hands. His newfound gift threatens to derail his life plan, and Ezra must make a choice about whether to embrace his unique ability or lose it forever.
The premise of the movie is top-notch. So many students feel
alienated from their peers at some point during their high
school experience that food-spewing hands don't seem a
far-fetched embodiment of that emotion. And many high schoolers
can relate to an older relative telling them to embrace their
uniqueness, without acknowledging that what makes them unique
may also make them unpopular. Ezra's struggles to control and
appreciate his gift, to negotiate the social aspects of high
school, and to cope with college admissions pressure are all
meaningful.
Where the movie falls short is in ambition. If someone has the
ability to create food at will in a world where there is hunger
(as shown when Ezra is forced to work in a soup kitchen),
should his highest goal be to entertain friends and classmates
with wacky food tricks and food fights? It's disappointing that
the movie steers clear of any discussion of the real promise of
his gift, aside from a quick history lesson on his ancestors.
Perhaps the blame should fall on his similarly talented
grandmother, whose only goal is to write a cookbook.
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