Starring Luke Benward, Tom Cavanagh. Written by Bob Dolman from the
book by Thomas Rockwell. Directed by Bob Dolman. (G) 84 min. Opens Aug
25.
The fact that Fear Factor's most loyal audience is children aged two to 11 confirms that kids today love gross-outs just as much as they did when How to Eat Fried Worms
was published 33 years ago. Any movie adaptation of Thomas Rockwell's
kid-lit staple had better be as disgusting as its TV competition if
it's going to satisfy its target audience. Parents will be
relieved/appalled that this likeable adaptation by Banger Sisters
director and former SCTV writer Bob Dolman fulfills that criterion even
before we learn what happens when you cook a worm in a microwave.
(Don't worry, PETA -- no real crawlers were sacrificed for our viewing
pleasure.)
The hero of Dolman's update is Billy (Luke Benward), a
fifth-grader whose struggle to fit in at his new school is made even
harder when he's bullied into the stomach-testing challenge of downing
10 worms in one afternoon. As "Worm Boy" consumes invertebrates in a
variety of ways (e.g., mashed into a peanut butter sandwich, fried in
lard), he gradually wins new friends.
Ed's Tom Cavanagh stars
as Billy's dad, but unlike so many children's movies, this one lets the
kids determine the rules -- thus, the plot becomes a springboard for
goofy pranks and digressions. (The hilarity prompted by the discovery
of the word "sphincter" is one such highlight.) It's all as silly and
squishy as it should be.