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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Battle of Shaker Heights, The

EMAILPRINTMiramax Films

Battle of Shaker Heights, The reviews
33
5.4 User Score:

Generally unfavorable reviews

Based on 22 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 13 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Romance

Written by: Erica Beeney

Directed by: Efram Potelle
Kyle Rankin

Release Date:
Theatrical: August 22, 2003
DVD: December 9, 2003

Running Time: 90 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for language and some drug references

Starring Shia LaBeouf, Elden Henson, Amy Smart, Billy Kay, Kathleen Quinlan, Shiri Appleby, William Sadler, and Ray Wise

The winner of the second Project Greenlight screenwriting contest, this is a uniquely funny portrait of modern youth under siege. (Miramax Films)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

63

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Surprisingly sweet and smart... LaBeouf does an excellent job, and the talented Beeney is one to watch.

Read Full Review >
60

TV Guide Angel Cohn

LaBeouf somehow manages to turn Kelly's self-centered behavior and irritating character quirks into a sympathetic lead, and the well-written script by newcomer Erica Beeney brings a lot of humor to some very touching moments.

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50

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

If there is a delicate story of forgiveness, friendship and family buried somewhere in Erica Beeney's script, Potelle and Rankin haven't managed to find it under the throes of empty rebellion and painless triumph.

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50

Premiere Aaron Hillis

The dubious whimsy, devoid of any directorial voice, plays more like a very special episode of Dawson’s Creek.

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50

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Best to experience Shaker Heights for what it is: not a movie, exactly, but the true season capper of ''Project Greenlight,'' a series that finds its very drama on the road to mediocrity.

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50

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Isn't bad so much as jumbled...You get the sense of too much input, too many bright ideas, too many scenes that don't belong in the same movie.

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50

Salon.com Heather Havrilesky

The nice thing about seeing so much time, money and effort go into a bland film is that it makes you appreciate truly inspired filmmaking even more.

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50

LA Weekly Ron Stringer

While decidedly green, at least isn't mealy or tasteless. And if the juice in tyro screenwriter Erica Beeney's witty dialogue can't quite flow through the hard tissue of underripe gimmicks and derivative set pieces, there's enough sweetness in the performances, and tautness in the direction (by Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin), to forestall any serious bellyaching.

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50

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

The characters talk like smart, unpredictable people, and Kelly Ernswiler is one of a kind.

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50

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Directors Potelle and Rankin lack the skill to integrate the sometimes drastic shifts between comedy and drama - and the serious portions ultimately get short shrift, apparently at the behest of Miramax's marketing executives.

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50

Boston Globe Ty Burr

In a better movie -- a much better movie -- LaBeouf might make the same sort of impact Dustin Hoffman did in ''The Graduate.'' But the kid's young. There are movies to come.

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50

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

Painfully blasé coming-of-age story.

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50

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

If that sounds a lot like Rushmore, it is, except that the heart has been sucked out of the thing -- replaced by glib chatter, gratuitous Baudelaire references, and distracting product placement.

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50

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

Another heartfelt coming-of-age story that plays much more like a television movie than a theatrical feature.

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30

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

LaBeouf's got the beef, and his inevitably bright future may be the only reason anyone will ever look back on The Battle of Shaker Heights.

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30

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

The best thing that can be said about this lethargic coming-of-age tale, noticeably undernourished at 78 minutes, is that it's better than the even more pathetic "Stolen Summer."

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30

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Goes down fighting, but it goes down just the same.

30

Variety Robert Koehler

Although Erica Beeney's script beat out more than 7,000 entries, the screen version dulls her potentially distinctive voice with deadly doses of sentimentality.

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25

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

Dispiriting mess. The movie is bad in a boring way: tepidly paced, disjointed and lacking any emotional hook.

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20

The New York Times A.O. Scott

May lead to a new axiom: success has many fathers, but failure has "Project Greenlight."

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10

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

An insufferable piffle.

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10

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Brain-numbingly innocuous, cliche-soused melodrama.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 5.4 (out of 10) based on 13 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Craig B. gave it a 4:
The dialogue is clunky, the relationships among the characters are unconvincing, and the plot is boring and predictable. The movie asipres to be either a sweet coming-of-age story or a teen sex comedy, but the movie never really gets out of its own weight. If Erica Beeney's writing can be judged on the basis of this movie, then she may have some promise but she is still making some amateurish errors in judgment (i.e., being a little too obvious when she trots out her research and spending too much time telling the viewer how to feel about things rather than letting events speak for themselves). The movie does get points for a decent performance by Amy Smart. The rest of the cast did what they could. Shia LeBeouf...I don't know, maybe he will win me over someday if he gets the right role but, for now, I'm still unconvinced.

Heather L gave it a 10:
It couldnt be better shia is is a very talented actor.

Unbearable Lightness gave it a 2:
Had I not watched the entire season of Project Greenlight, I would have surely walked out of the theatre. I would have preferred to see either the drama the directors wanted to the dark comedy everyone else wanted. Shia's a punk, but I must admit, he's endearing in the film. Both points are for using the beautiful music of Matt Pond PA 3 times in the film (more points than should be given for music useage)

Beth E. gave it a 7:
Appealing movie..Shia is a phenom..and bottom line..it's better than 90% of the movies I have seen in the past year.

Griffin G. gave it an 8:
Among the more enjoyable filmgoing experiences of late. Witty, original dialogue and subtlely charming performances from a fine ensemble cast.

L. Tate gave it a 9:
Loved the beginning. Top notch acting. The writing was brilliant, intelligent and at the same time incredibly charming. WhatÂ’s not to like?

Read more user comments >

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