From producers Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Chris Moore, The Battle of Shaker Heights is the uniquely funny and touching comedy at the center of HBO's highly entertaining series Project Greenlight! For troubled high school senior Kelly Ernswiler (Shia Labeouf - Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Disney's Holes) life is war - or at least an incredible simulation! With all the difficulties in his real life, Kelly has found just one true escape: losing himself in fantasy reenactments of World War II's epic battles. Then he strikes up an unlikely friendship with a fellow reenactor, preppy Bart Bowland (Elden Henson - Dumb and Dumberer), and Kelly's life is set to explode in ways he never expected! Also starring Amy Smart (Road Trip) and Kathleen Quinlan (Apollo 13) in a winning cast of Hollywood favorites - here's your chance to enjoy the final cut of the film millions watched together in the second hit season of Project Greenlight!
(25 votes)
2.
With a team of strong actors, a hilarious script by Erica Beeney, and an evocative soundtrack, directing duo Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin have hit the nail on the head with THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS. A clever and wonderfully nostalgic coming-of-age movie that does not fail to entertain, it achieves something close to Wes Anderson's brilliant RUSHMORE. Kelly Ernswiler (Shia LaBeouf) is a 17-year-old expert in the art of war, uncomfortable in his own skin except for those shining moments when he is reenacting historic battles or viciously critiquing his poor history teacher (Michael McShane) for a watered-down understanding of Gettysburg. Kelly is a bundle of thwarted ideas and insights that he chalks up to living with his artist Mom (Kathleen Quinlan), who is short on homemaking skills, and recovering drug addict father (William Sadler), who occasionally invites the local homeless to sleep on their couch. When Kelly becomes the target of a school bully (Billy Kay), his rich-kid friend Bart (Elden Henson) helps him wage a grand-scale counterattack. Even more trouble bubbles up when Kelly develops an inappropriate and obstinate infatuation with Bart's Yale grad-school sister Tabby (Amy Smart).
BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS, a product of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Project Greenlight, is a unique success due to Potelle's graceful teetering between smart-ass exterior and inner fragility.
(24 votes)
3.
This perfectly pleasant, if minor, coming-of-age comedy-drama is the second feature released via the Miramax/HBO/Ben Affleck-Matt Damon TV program Project Greenlight. Series viewers watched Heights directors Kyle Rankin and Efram Potelle struggle to get their vision of screenwriter Erica Beeney's story past an intractable producer. If the process was not pretty, the final result--i.e., this film--has some nice things. Leading the list is rising star Shia LaBeouf (Holes) as likable, 17-year-old misfit Kelly Ernswiler, coasting through life and fascinated by simulated war games. He befriends a sweet but cynical preppie, Bart Bowland (Elden Hensen), whose sexy older sister, Tabby (Amy Smart), offers Kelly a glimpse of adult passions and heartache. The cast is strong, including Kathleen Quinlan and William Sadler as the Caulfield-esque hero's troubled parents. There are solid moments of comedy and affecting, better-than-average drama. If Heights fails to ignite, at least it doesn't fail to move. --Tom Keogh
(24 votes)
4.
Kelly (LaBeouf) is an ordinary 17 year old boy - he gets picked on at school, argues with his parents and has a huge crush on Tabby (Smart), his friend's pretty sister. And just for fun, he likes to re-enact World War II battle scenes, taking out his repressed aggression on the battle field. During one intense battle he meets Bart (Henson), a guy he couldn't be more opposite from, but they become fast friends. With this new friendship, Kelly finds the confidence to take on the class bully, make a move on Tabby and set things straight with his family!
(22 votes)
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