August Rush

I had heard mixed reviews about this movie from several different sources. Some loved it, some hated it, and no one was in the middle. I guess I fall into the middle category, because I didn't love it, and I didn't hate it...it was just blah for me. Several aspects of the plot had potential...but the main idea was so far fetched and unrealistic that I just could not sink my teeth into this movie. Being a social worker, I always love a touching story about a child being reunited with his parents...but an 11 year old child who has never touched an instrument in his life writing a symphony that reunites himself with his parents? Yeah...right. I liked Freddie Highmore in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I think I just figured out why...because he is a weird kid...and you need a weird kid to be Charlie because the movie is just weird. But in August Rush he was also a super weird kid, and I wanted to beat him up like those bullies in the orphanage. His eyes are glazed over the entire movie, and I would classify him as either high functioning autism or aspergers due to his fantasy about how his parents were talking to him through music, and his inability to relate to people socially. I just felt that the way he was acting in the movie was not how children act...it was just unbelievable to me. I blame the majority of this movies flaws on the inexperience of the director, who has not directed anything noteworthy. Overall, I really did not like this movie, so I give it 1 pig...harsh, I know.