How to Eat Fried Worms

Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirschling

Happily, after a cartoon opening-credits sequence that overdoes it on the barf, Worms goes light (but not too light) on the gore and the goo.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Here's hoping its old-fashioned sensibility appeals to contemporary kids, because we could certainly use more movies as smart and sweet as this one.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

While changes have been made to the book in the interest of compressing the story and emphasizing certain life lessons, the 33-year-old premise is still perfectly in sync with the sensibilities of preteen boys everywhere.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

The movie gathers steam as these little terrors up the ante with each new gross-out recipe. Former child star Hallie Kate Eisenberg, blooming into a beautifully poised young woman, grounds the film as Benward's loyal supporter.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

Worms is one of those rare kiddie flicks that successfully adopt a child’s-eye view of the world, where nothing is more important than saving face on the playground and where parents are as distant and clueless as storybook giants.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Manny Lewis

The film is genuinely good-natured and kids -- particularly the ones who actually do this sort of stuff to worms -- will enjoy it and may even take the movie's loose morals to heart.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

There's no great art to Fried Worms' simple, family-friendly style and obvious clichés, but there's a refreshing lack of x-treme attitude, slapstick violence, and all the other things that make most kids' movies feel like they were generated by a marketing committee.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

How to Eat Fried Worms belongs to a vanishing breed - live action family films.

USA Today Claudia Puig

The worms, the real stars of the film, are fairly impressive, looming large, plump and slimy as they are boiled, fried, served with sauce and added to omelettes and smoothies.

Miami Herald Peter Debruge

True to form, How to Eat Fried Worms forgoes flatulence jokes for positive examples.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

Boys will be happy at the mild grossness; parents will tolerate anything that entertains their hyperkinetic boys; and sisters will agree with the film's lone girl.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

Nicely directed, the film version proves refreshingly free of the customary blights that affect most modern children's movies, notably adult condescension. But, man, is it mean.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

It's the worm set pieces that rule, as our hero must carry out a dare to eat ten worms ten ways between sunup and sundown.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

The direction is lackluster, the child actors – with the exception of Eisenberg – are pretty dismal, and the whole thing is about 15 minutes too long.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Good message, mediocre movie.

Variety Lael Loewenstein

A decidedly old-fashioned family film that may prove too quaint for modern audiences.

Austin Chronicle Toddy Burton

The sweetness of spirit and rapidly moving story will keep parents entertained while blessing the kids with a mildly raunchy good time.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

This is a picture in which the barf scenes standard in the usual crude youth comedies aren't gratuitous. They're logical climaxes.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole

How to Eat Fried Worms arrives just in time to placate preteen boys who resent being unable to see the frankly more adult though equally immature "Snakes on a Plane."

New York Post Lou Lumenick

The star is Luke Benward, a dead ringer for the young Kurt Russell.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

It's a pleasant and well-intentioned end of summer diversion that doesn't possess the imagination-stoking qualities of a premier children's movie.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The movie has a pleasing skinned-knee innocence that makes you wish everything else about it wasn't so shoddy.

Wall Street Journal Joanne Kaufman

After the first bit of fish bait is consumed, actually even before, this one-trick movie is a tough slog.