Secondhand Lions

Released 2003
Stars Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Haley Joel Osment, Kyra Sedgwick, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Josh Lucas
Directed by Tim McCanlies

"Secondhand Lions" is about the uncles every boy should have, and the summer every boy should spend. No uncles or summers like this ever existed, but isn't it nice to think that Uncle Garth and Uncle Hub are waiting there on their Texas ranch, shooting at fish and salesmen, and waiting for their 12-year-old nephew to be dumped on them.

They are two completely inexplicable and unlikely characters, and we doubt we can believe anything we learn about them, but in the hands of those sainted actors Robert Duvall and Michael Caine, they glow with a kind of inner conviction even while their stories challenge even the kid's credulity. Maybe Hub really was a foreign legionnaire and led thousands of men into battle and won and lost a dozen fortunes, and maybe he really was in love with a desert princess named Jasmine, and then again maybe he's just been sitting there on the porch with Garth making up tall tales for gullible nephews.

Summary by Roger Ebert

I liked this movie a lot. Robert Duvall's character is a real man, and he's a delight to watch. He's tough but caring, and he's a perfect match for his brother. It's not a perfect family film, though. The ending is overlong, and there's a ton of mild profanity that made me cringe every few seconds. It's rated PG, but there must be 50-100 cuss words. Either be a family movie or don't be. Don't add inappropriate content for preteens. --Bill Alward, March 15, 2004