Holes **** (2003, Shia LaBoeuf, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Tim Blake Nelson, Henry Winkler, Dulé Hill, Patricia Arquette) – Classic Movie Review 3031

Director Andrew Davis’s 2003 Disney drama stars Shia LaBoeuf as a wrongfully convicted boy thief called Stanley, who is sent to a brutal young offenders’ detention camp, where the warden (Sigourney Weaver), the deputy by the name of Mr Sir (Jon Voight) and ‘doctor’ (Tim Blake Nelson) force the boys to dig holes in the desert sun.

In flashbacks, the boy’s family story unfolds, interconnecting eventually with the main yarn. This is a exceptionally fizzy, sweet and intelligent comedy drama with plenty entertainment value to please both kids and adults. It is given an extra lift with an appealing turn by LaBoeuf and entertainingly over-the-top performances by Weaver, Voight and Nelson, plus effective appearances by Henry Winkler as the boy’s inventor dad, Dulé Hill and Patricia Arquette.

Eartha Kitt plays Madame Zeroni. ‘But if you forget to come back for Madame Zeroni, you and your family will be cursed for always and eternity.’

Davis’s fine feature, based on the Newberry Award-winning book by Louis Sachar, who also writes the screenplay, was happily both popular and critically acclaimed.

Producer Steven Spielberg was impressed by LaBeouf’s work on Holes and arranged for him to be on the casting shortlist for Disturbia (2007).

Classic Movie Review 3031