Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Child Acting at It's Best, July 25, 2003
Being an actor requires that you be the possessor of a whole list of extraordinary traits such as being at least fairly talented, having an appealing personality, being just original enough to be interesting and looking halfway decent in stylish clothes, among others. Being a child actor is wholly different, mostly because the large majority of child actors defy the number one rule in that they are sadly lacking in any form of true talent.
For example, you have Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who were (and still are) unbearable to watch on screen. There is also every child who ever set foot on the set a Disney channel show and most of the children with small roles on adult sitcoms. These kids are cute but they just can't act.
So when an agent comes across a really good child actor, its no surprise that suddenly that poor kid is slapped with a starring role in every movie made while they're still young enough to look normal in overalls, hence, the story of McCauley Culkin and Elijah Wood's lives.
One of the most interesting things about Joseph Ruben's 1993 film `The Good Son', is that its about criminal insanity and is rated `R' yet the two main characters are barely ten years old. To Ruben the concept must have stood out as wonderfully original, but making the movie was a risky decision because finding two kids talented enough to play the apparently "evil", Henry and his earnest cousin, Mark could not have been easy.
But, miraculously, the casting agents did it and well-known child actors Culkin and Wood were respectively cast.
When Mark's mother dies a premature death, he is sent to live with his aunt, uncle and cousins for two weeks while his father closes a business deal in Tokyo. Mark and his cousin Henry are around the same age and immediately get along after being reintroduced. However, things are not as peaceful as they seem in Henry's house. Less than a year ago, the family's youngest child, Richard, drowned in the bathtub and Mark's aunt Susan is still deeply distraught over the "accident", which she considers her fault. At first Mark considers this story sad but unpreventable; however, as he gets to know his cousin better, his true personality puts the account in a whole new light.
This movie is truly child acting at its best. Culkin's performance suggests that he understands his malicious but brilliant character better than most adult actors understand far simpler roles. Wood, who has always had the ability to completely become any character he plays, is equally stunning, playing a desperate, victimized little boy with outstanding capability. It's hard to judge which young man is the better actor, or even which part was harder to play, their raw talent should make any actor go green with envy. They also have exceptional screen chemistry, which makes not only their characters, but also their characters' relationship intensely believable, the scenes that they are in together are by far the best.
David Morse, Wendy Crewson and Quinn Culkin (MaCauley's sister) are also members of the cast, which is particularly small. However, their performances look amateur next to (the older) Culkin and Wood, and in comparison to her brother's Quinn's performance outlines the difference between a good child actor and a bad one.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Elijah Wood, Macaulay Culkin THE GOOD SON is Superb!, January 8, 2001
A Kid's Review
The first time I came across this was in a junior novelization by Todd Strasser, and I must admit its better than the movie. But the movie is a delight. Macaulay Culkin is Henry, the young child who has everyone fooled into thinking he is a great kid. But he is really a youngster who loves to watch death. Elijah Wood(the kid in this movie who knows how to act) comes off much better as Mark, Henry's cousin and the only kid who knows Henry's true personality. The music is wonderful. Elmer Bernstein is a genius. And what can I say, even my mom liked the photography! I first saw the "TELEVISED" version on TV, following the real movie. Not a thing was changed! The reason for its R rating is Theme. Period. The violence is off screen, and besides Henry's one use of the "F-word" and some other expletives, there is nothing really here. WITH A PARENT, watch this movie kids, and adults, even though it stars young children, you'll like it too!
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Battle of the Child Stars!, November 20, 2001
In this corner, red headed Hollywood stepchild with the apple pie smile; star of "Home Alone" and Michael Jackson house guest, and future unemployed rehab patient seen in E Entertainment's True Life story "The Rise and Fall of a Hollywood Child Star": You know him, you hate him; it's Macaulay Culkinnnnnnnnn!!!!And in this corner, cute, precocious and very, very talented; although he has stumbled occasionally into near career fatal accidents like "North" and "Flipper," he has come out grounded and swinging, landing the biggest starring role of all time in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. You know him, and if you don't love him, you soon will; it's Elijah Wooddddddddddddd!!! These two mini Hollywood tikes square off in a controversial thriller that's scarier and bloodier than you might imagine. It's good versus evil in the middle school arena! You'll cheer as the battle leads to a satisfying conclusion that's sure to please lovers and haters of precocious child actors alike. Let's get it on!!!!!!!!!
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