With the Harry Potter juggernaught barreling
full steam ahead, it may be a little hard to fathom that there
could possibly be something else out there in the world of children's
literature. And yet, there are stories out there that are just
as well known to kids. They just don't have the media blitz
that the Potter boy has working for him.
Chances are pretty good that if you're an
adult reading this and you don't have kids, then you probably
had never heard of Holes prior to the release of the film. But
there's no denying that the book is prevalent in the popular
culture of your average pre-teen.
I haven't read the book myself, but after
seeing the film, I may have to fix that.
As the story opens, we are introduced to Stanley
Yelnats the Third (Shia LeBeouf), a boy with extrordinarily
bad luck. In fact, he comes from a family plagued with bad luck.
We learn that in his family's past, the first Stanley (Stanley
is a popular name in the family because, quite simply, it's
Yelnats spelled backwards) made a pact with a psychic and reneged
on the deal, bringing down a curse upon all Yelnats' to come.
Stanley (the third) finds himself accused
of stealing a pair of shoes. Of course we and Stanley know that
he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Still, he
is branded a delinquent and sent to a reform school at a place
called Camp Greenlake.
Upon his arrival at Camp Greenlake, Stanley
learns that it is neither green nor a lake. In fact, it's the
middle of a desert and it hasn't rained in decades. The point
of the camp, we are told, is to build character. The specific
means of building character is to dig holes. Lots of holes.
Of course there is a hidden agenda. That much
is blatantly obvious. The camp is run with an iron fist by The
Warden (Sigourney Weaver) and her two lackeys, Mr. Sir (Jon
Voight) and Dr. Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson) and their one rule,
other than to dig holes, of course, is to report if they find
anything "interesting."
Now, what would be a prison movie without
colorful characters? Holes has plenty and their names are as
interesting as their personalities. Stanley runs into kids named
Armpit (Byron Colton), Zero (Khleo Thomas), X-Ray (Brenden Jefferson)
and more. The amazing thing here is that these kids are cast
against some heavyweights in the acting industry and they manage
to hold their own.
The story probably could have been only about
Camp Greenlake and been a great tale for the kids, but Holes
pushes it even further. There are actually three storylines.
The main arc, of course, follows the events in the camp. The
other two storylines take place in the past. One deals with
the Yelnats family curse and the other tells the story of an
infamous old west outlaw named Kissing Kate (Patricia Arquette).
All three tales are interwoven, but I won't spoil the details.
What impressed me the most is that Holes was
not "dumbed down" for the younger crowd. Just like
the Harry Potter stories, this isn't as much a kids' tale as
it is a tale that will appeal to kids. The difference is significant
and is exactly the reason that Holes will also be entertaining
for adults. I went into this film expecting Disney Channel fluff
and instead found a story that was intelligent, witty and charming.
