Movie Review: Secondhand Lions

A movie my girlfriend dragged me to, now I own it on DVD.

Garth (Michael Caine) and Hub (Robert Duvall) are two elderly brothers whose ne'er-do-well niece visits to deposit her young son, Walter (Haley Joel Osment), before lighting out again.  It takes awhile for the boy to warm to the two old eccentrics who like to take potshots at salesmen who drive up after hearing they might have money socked away.  They order a lion from an animal supplier so they can do some big game hunting but can't bring themselves to shoot the toothless old thing which takes up residence in their tiny corn patch which reminds him of his distant home.  Hub gets into a fight with some trouble-makers, winds up int the hospital, and wrecks the place getting out.  In bits and pieces, the boy is told the story of the brothers' early lives, which may or may not be true, but it is definitely exciting.  He gradually gets close to them until he finds himself forced to choose how much he believes them, or at least believes in them.

The acting is in this coming-of-age story is excellent, the story touching and compelling, the ending very satisfying.  As I said, I had to be dragged to see it.....

The DVD includes a making-of feature and a profile of Osment.