This movie surprised me. I was expecting another sappy crapfest like the last one my mother recommended but this was really outstanding. Much more Big Fish than August Rush. Walter (Haley Joel Osment) is sent to live with his crazy great-uncles in rural Texas by his gold-digging mother (Kyra Sedgewick). The old coots are reputed to have a vast quantity of cash buried somewhere on the property, leading to various relatives attempting to ingratiate themselves. The uncles (Robert Duvall and Michael Caine) are incredibly eccentric, amusing themselves by shooting at the salesmen that constantly beleaguer them. They take a liking to the boy after seeing that he discomfits their other relatives and take him under their insane wings. He discovers an old picture of a beautiful woman and is spun the tale of Uncle Hub's (Duvall) great love, an Arabian princess. Many battles were fought, and a great tragedy occurred.
It's an insanely cute film. Caine and Duvall play crochety very well. Caine struggles a bit to hide his accent but the overall effect isn't ruined since they were supposed to have been shanghai'd into the French Foreign Legion. The flashback scenes are played for laughs, being mostly pantomimed while Caine voices over. Emmanuelle Vaugier plays the princess and Elliott from Leverage plays the young Uncle Hub. Haley Joel Osment seemed to be bridging those awkward teenaged years pretty well. I want him to come back and start being in stuff again. Someone needs to kill Channing Tatum and replace him with Haley Joel.
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