Haley Joel Osment, the young star of “Secondhand Lions,” is in an awkward place. The 10-year-old kid who wowed everyone with his performance in “The Sixth Sense” is now a few years older and stuck between an Oscar nomination (for making us all believe he could really see dead people) and a hard place (puberty). The transition from child star to adult actor is never an easy one, and as his too-tightly-wound turn in “Secondhand Lions” demonstrates, Osment’s journey won’t be any exception. While he was appropriately creepy in “Sixth Sense” and to a lesser degree “AI,” he’s unintentionally creepy this time around — repeatedly pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes in an attempt to convey emotion that instead gives the impression he’s constipated. Fortunately for him and his new movie, a pair of the best ever — Oscar winners Michael Caine and Robert Duvall — pitch in to make “Secondhand Lions” a somewhat palatable coming-of-age tale.
Osment plays Walter, a 14-year-old kid in the early 1960s whose gold-digging mother (Kyra Sedgwick) dumps him at the Texas ranch of his eccentric great uncles Hub (Duvall) and Garth (Caine) McCaan on her way to find a husband in Las Vegas. It isn’t long before the kid discovers that these mysterious, gruff old would-be farmers have a wildly adventurous past. As Garth, the more accessible of the two, spins yarns about the brothers’ exploits, we’re transported (via flashbacks) to exotic lands with sheiks and swordfights and beautiful princesses. Along the way, Walter learns the value of chivalry and honor, and the old men rediscover their zest for life. The message is a good one, but it’s delivered with an overdose of sentimentality. Writer-director Tim McCan-lies (who penned the screenplay for the animated feature “The Iron Giant”) has a great deal of fun with the flashback sequences, but struggles to develop the relationship between the boy and his crusty keepers. From beginning to teary-eyed end, it all feels too artificial, partly because the script is a little thin, mostly because Osment can’t hold up his end of the bargain. As hard as Duvall and Caine try to push this unwieldy family fare along, the old hands can’t quite advance “Secondhand Lions” beyond the ordinary. (Rated PG for thematic material, language and action violence.)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 19, 2003. Read the original PDF.