| Max Keeble's Big Move |
Theatrical release poster |
| Directed by |
Tim Hill |
| Produced by |
Mike Karz |
| Written by |
David L. Watts
James Greer
Jonathan Bernstein
Mark Blackwell |
| Starring |
Alex D. Linz |
| Music by |
Michael Wandmacher |
| Cinematography |
Arthur Albert |
| Editing by |
Tony Lombardo
Peck Prior |
| Studio |
Karz Entertainment |
| Distributed by |
Walt Disney Pictures |
| Release date(s) |
October 5, 2001 (2001-10-05) |
| Running time |
86 minutes |
| Country |
United States |
| Language |
English |
| Budget |
$25 million[1] |
| Box office |
$18,634,654 |
Max Keeble's Big Move is a 2001 Disney live-action teen comedy film directed by Tim Hill, written by David L. Watts, James Greer, Jonathan Bernstein, and Mark Blackwell, and starring Alex D. Linz as the title character. The film is set in University Place, Washington. It was released in North America on October 5, 2001. Shooting took place in Los Angeles, California.
Plot
Max Keeble (Alex D. Linz) is a seventh grade junior-high school paperboy who has a huge crush on Jenna (Brooke Anne Smith), the daughter of one of his paper recipients. Max has two best friends, Robe and Megan (Josh Peck and Zena Grey), and is constantly bullied by Troy McGinty and Dobbs (Noel Fisher and Orlando Brown) by physical humiliation and stealing lunch money. Max is enemies with the corrupt school principal, Elliot T. Jindrake (Larry Miller) and the Evil Ice Cream Man (Jamie Kennedy), and also learns that an animal shelter that he visits is being closed down.
When Max unexpectedly finds out that he is moving to Chicago after his father, Donald "Don" Keeble (Robert Carradine), gets a promotion, Max is initially upset at having to move, but later plots to exact revenge against Jindrake, Troy, Dobbs, and the Evil Ice Cream Man, believing that when they try to retaliate, Max will be gone. Max, Robe, and Megan concoct methods of revenge including terrifing Troy by playing a main theme song from the fictional childrens' television show, MacGoogle the Highlander Frog, and later severely traumatizing him by trapping him in the gym with MacGoogle, instigating a fight between Dobbs and the Evil Ice Cream Man by stealing a coolant coil for his ice cream truck and his handheld device, and lastly to ruin Jindrake's chances of becoming superintendent to replace the current superintendent, Crazy Legs (Clifton Davis), by planting animal pheronomes within his breath spray, instigating a food fight, and later by sabotaging his announcements by placing a cardboard cutout of Max pointing at Jindrake claiming that the latter was wearing a thong.
Once his missions are completed, Max ends up ditching Robe and Megan's going away party by accepting an invite to Jenna's milkshake party, causing a falling out. In addition, Don, taking Max's advice to heart earlier, announces that he quit his job and starting his own business, meaning that Max is not moving after all. Max freaks out at this news, and learns that Robe, Megan, and the entire school are suffering because of his actions. He saw that no matter who you are, you can always stand up for yourself. Max later confronts Jindrake, Troy, and Dobbs one final time, and with his help of Robe, Megan, and the entire school, eventually defeats Troy and Dobbs for good, stops Jindrake from demolishing the animal shelter, and later gets Jindrake fired for fiddling with his school budget. The film ends when Max riding on his bicycle delivering newspapers in his neighborhood, and the Evil Ice Cream Man starts pursuing Max once again.
Cast
Critical reception
Despite positive reviews from child viewers, Max Keeble's Big Move was a box office bomb. Rotten Tomatoes currently gives the film a 26% "rotten" rating on its site. The consensus states that the film is "fun for kids, but bland and unoriginal for adults."
References
External links
