Movie Review of "Hoot"
Rated PG
By CK Movie Kid Jonathan Lack

"Hoot," based on the novel by Carl Hiaasen, while entertaining, doesn't feel like it should be on the big screen. It looks and feels like a Disney Channel TV-Movie on an over-sized TV screen. While the story is fairly strong (even if it isn't very original) the acting is stale, the gags un-funny and, like I said, feels like a TV movie.

Roy Eberhardt has been in 8 schools in the past 10 years, he tells us as the movie opens. When Roy moves from Montana to Florida, he thinks he'll hate his new life. But when Roy meets two kids trying to stop the building of a pancake house that will kill baby-owls, he decides to help them and gets some much-needed excitement in his life.

Hoot tries to be sincere and make you care for the characters and their cause, but after walking out of the theater, I'll have to say that I wouldn't have cared if they hadn't saved the owls. The acting was pretty much flat; the actors seemed to have no range other than happy-go-lucky, even when the situation was dire.

Also, I don't believe you see one single owl come out in a night scene. They all come out during the day. Maybe owls are different in Florida, but from everything I know about owls, I've heard that they were nocturnal.

But the book is targeted for kids 7-12, and the movie is too. The intended age range will probably find a lot of fun in this movie, but parents won't. It's the kind of movie a parent drops their kids off in while they go see a romantic comedy.
It's also the kind of movie you'd see premiering only on TV.

The acting, the script, and the music all scream "TV MOVIE." Hoot would have been better if there was a bit more effort put into it.

I would recommend Hoot for ages 7-12, and fans of the book. There's very little language, and no violence. It's harmless.
So go see "Hoot if you enjoyed the book," or if you're a younger kid. You'll like it. (May, 2006)