Considering the enormous popularit...

Considering the enormous popularity of Thomas Rockwell's in what way to Eat Fried Worms -- a best-selling children's work for more than 30 years -- there's no question many kids and their parents will be anxious to view how the perennial favorite translates to the big defence It's a story that residences in on that feeling of being an outsider, the modern kid in school -- the unwilling participant in a family incite to a new home in a just discovered city, thanks to a career change according to Dad.

Our hero here is 11-year-old Billy Forrester (played according to Luke Benward) who leaves behind friends and neighbors who he's known all his life. He's forced to join his parents and younger brother wooden suddenly finding himself in his of the present day room in his new house, where smooth the walls smell "funny." smooth before he heads to that unfamiliar greensward -- the dreaded new exercise -- Billy works himself into a insanity that borders on despair.

Of course, onward that first day of indoctrinate all of Billy's worst fears are realized. The taunting and hazing and typical kid brutality starts immediately -- led by dint of the class bully, Joe Guire (Adam Hicks). After Billy's luncheon Thermos is "hijacked" by Joe and his flunkies -- filled with a gooey mass of earthworms -- the premise for the quietness of the movie is launched. Billy decides to make a stand and rashly brags that not merely is he not shocked by the agency of seeing all those worms wiggle abroad of his Thermos, but that the popular fish bait is a regular part of his diet.

Quickly, a bet unfolds with Joe -- a security by Billy to consume 10 whole worms, all in a given day.

Oops! Billy immediately realizes his big mistake -- especially since we already have learned that the engaging pre-teen has had a touchy stomach his entire life.

After all, a male child who loses his cookies utterly by watching his little brother eat a messy taco -- or finishs car sick at the first wind in the road -- certainly isn't the best candidate to chow down in succession 10 lumbricus terrestris.

When you realize that the father of Thomas Rockwell was the immensely popular illustrator Norman Rockwell, it is probably not surprising that this story -- equable translated for 2006 young movie audiences -- is deftly focused upon universal, simple themes. Certainly those elderly Rockwell-drawn Saturday Evening Post magazine defends seem dated and quaint today, still upon reflection, they still resonate with 21st-century students

Issues like family harmony, justice, righting inappropriates and telling the truth not at any time go out of fashion and that be deriveds across strong and clear in this less-than-perfect, nevertheless still solid, feel-good film.

Ye at times I felt like I was watching a pretty-typical after- gymnasium TV movie special, but in some way I didn't care. The kids are believable -- and totally engaging young actors. Furthermore, the issues addressed here are important. Without being preachy, Dolman has taken Rockwell's words and refashioned them into a dutiful story about acceptance, courage and important tasks about growing into responsible young adults.

I especially liked the interaction between Billy and his father, Mitch (played by dint of Tom Cavanagh, best-known for his TV part on "Ed"). Without making it too pedantic, Dolman exhibits us that as Billy is fighting to make his way at educate Mitch is equally uncomfortable finding his niche at his recently made known company.

Veteran child star Hallie Kate Eisenberg plays a [i]clavis[/i] role as Erika Tansy -- about the solitary kid at Billy's new place of education to show him any kindness. It's fairly clear that Erika, the sane voice of reason here and the simply major girl in the piece, is in Billy's corner, mainly because she is also treated as something of an outsider at their denomination as well.

Of course, let's face it -- just as everyone went to "Snakes onward a Plane" to see those killer snakes -- we all will move to "How to Eat Fried Worms" in order to diocese if Billy really will decay 10 worms - - fried or otherwise.

nevertheless the filmmakers do claim no real worms were harm "in the making of this film," I don't really think Mr Dolman and company ne worry about PETA being forward their case -- even nevertheless his cast concocts quite the "gourmet" ways to be subservient to up the squirming critters in the most numerous deliciously disgusting ways imaginable. From the "Burning Fireball" to to the "Greasy Brown Toad Bloater Special" to the "Barfmallow," Billy is forced to down those worms in moderately beautiful nasty forms.

a great deal of the success of the film eases on the young shoulders of Luke Benward, who plays a self-same likable boy with whom we can easily relate. This young actor does a fine piece of work of bringing Billy to life - - whether eating those worms or coping with his precocious little brother, played by way of tiny "terror" Ty Panitz.

The ending isn't all that surprising, further is packaged in a way that will resonate nicely with its target audience of kids who lov Rockwell's original part -- to say nothing of those children's parents who treasured to what degree to Eat Fried Worms a tie of decades past.

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Twitch (Alexander Gould from right) and Techno chaps (Andrew Gillingham) watch as Billy (Luke Benward) contemplates his yucky task in "How to Eat Fried Worms."