The Mighty (1998)

Director:

Peter Chelsom

Writers (WGA):

Rodman Philbrick (novel)
Charles Leavitt (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 October 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

The quest for friendship is the noblest cause of all.

Plot:

This tells the story of a strong friendship between a young boy with Morquio's syndrome and an older boy who is always bullied because of his size...

Plot Keywords:

Friendship | Tutor | Knight | Imagination | Quest

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Harry Dean Stanton	...	Grim
Gena Rowlands	...	Gram
Elden Henson	...	Maxwell Kane
Douglas Bisset	...	Homeless Man
Joseph Perrino	...	Blade (as Joe Perrino)
Dov Tiefenbach	...	Doghouse Boy #1
Michael Colton	...	Doghouse Boy #2
Daniel Lee	...	Doghouse Boy #3
Eve Crawford	...	Mrs. Donelli
Kieran Culkin	...	Kevin Dillon
Sharon Stone	...	Gwen Dillon
John Bourgeois	...	Mr. Sacker
Bruce Tubbe	...	Officer
Rudy Webb	...	Mr. Hampton
Ron Nigrini	...	Man in Diner

Also Known As:

Freak the Mighty (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for elements of violence and peril.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:All | Philippines:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:Livre | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Spain:T | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35748)

Filming Locations:

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Company:

Chaos Productions

Trivia:

Trailer features two scenes not used in the final film: Max playing with one of Kevin's toys and Kevin gets a computer on Christmas.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: Geoff Alexander is credited as conductor twice.

Quotes:

Maxwell Kane: Why am I always the one who ends up knee deep in crap?
Kevin Dillon: Just think of it as Close Encounters of the Turd Kind.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Godfather (1972)

Soundtrack:

Strip Bar Style

Sounds cheesy, but The Mighty is anything but.

"Sometimes seems like the whole world has just seen me on America's Most Wanted." (Max Kane)

So says the imposing gentle giant Max (the excellent Elden Ratliff). He is a 13-year-old with a murdered mother and murdering jailbird father (James Gandolfini), who has twice failed 8th grade and lives with disgruntled grandparents Gram and Grim (the particularly morose Harry Dean Stanton and Gena Rowlands). It's a wonder he isn't Mad Max. However, he has a saviour. A minor miracle named Kevin Dillon (Kieran Culkin). Sounds cheesy, but The Mighty is anything but.

Peter Chelson, director of the inventive and original Funny Bones, has lovingly superimposed Rodman Philbrick's successful children's book Freak The Mighty to the screen. The result is as moving as any kiddies film you've seen in the last ten years.

Kevin is suffering from Morquio's syndrome, a progressively degenerative disease that makes him unable to walk without leg braces. However, the boy is a considerable intellectual giant trapped inside a small, fragile body. As luck would have it he is consigned to tutor Max in remedial reading. In the words of Bogart it's the start of a "beautiful friendship".

Kevin introduces the big guy to Arthurian legend. "Every word is part of a picture. Every sentence is a picture. All you do, is let your imagination connect them together. If you have an imagination that is," he says.

Inspired by the knights in the book, the boys invent a fantasy world in which honour is everything. Together, Max and Kevin set out to battle their foes, both real and imagined.

Do not be put off by the presence of a Culkin or the mention of King Arthur. The Mighty is sincere, without being turgidly earnest, and genuinely uplifting. Sharon Stone equips herself well as the distraught mother of Kevin, but can't quite convince us that she doesn't ooze glamour. The "bad" kids also do not quite fit, resembling the troublesome urchins in Bugsy Malone rather than vicious Cincinnati hoodlums. However, these are minor quibbles, for ultimately The Mighty is several notches above the average children's film.

Ben Walsh