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December Boys

Review By: Michael Dance
michaelmdance@gmail.com

I've always had a soft spot for coming-of-age movies. Sweet movies about kids growing up, getting into trouble, and learning life lessons just appeal to me; maybe it's because I like think that my own childhood was full of happiness and adventure. The smartest coming-of-age movies remind us, in between the adventures, that those years were also often angsty and terrifying.

December Boys is a passable addition into the genre, going for one of those "the summer we'll never forget" structures. It lays on the syrup a little thick, but it's treading well-worn territory and gets a passing grade simply by not screwing up too much. Four Australian orphans - nicknamed Maps, Misty, Sparks, and Spit - are the "December Boys," the four kids in their orphanage with birthdays in December. That month, they're taken to a small beach cove for a holiday, populated by colorful characters like their strict Catholic guardians, a motorcycle driver and his wife, a cute girl that lives up on the hill, etc.

Maps (Daniel Radcliffe) is the oldest, and the only one well into puberty, which means he's the most sulky, at least until he meets the afformentioned cute girl Lucy (Teresa Palmer). The movie belongs to him about half the time, with the other half dedicated to Misty (Lee Cormie), the youngest of the December Boys, and named thanks to his tendency to cry - a habit which we, oddly enough, never see. An older Misty narrates the movie, which allows the movie to occasionally lapse into cutesy fantasy sequences like a vision of cartwheeling nuns. It's the kind of thing that works in prose (the movie is based on an Australian novel) but is pretty stupid when you actually see it.

The story finds some stakes when Misty overhears that the likable motorcyclist and his wife (Sullivan Stapleton and Victoria Hill) might be looking to adopt one of the boys, and the vacation might be a sort of audition for the prospective parents. That results in the boys frantically competing to be the most lovable, except for Maps, who assumes he's too old to be considered and spends his days with Lucy instead.

The drama isn't really all that interesting, especially since barely any attempt is made to characterize the two middle boys, Sparks and Spit. The ultimate decision of the potential young parents -- which one will they choose to adopt? -- isn't meant to seem crude or cruel, but I couldn't help but feel that it was. There's something heartless about handpicking your favorite orphan out of four, especially when the final decision ends up being as anticlimactic as this.

The best way to enjoy the movie is to vicariously enjoy the vacation the kids are having, because the locations and cinematography are absolutely beautiful. The film was shot mainly around Kangaroo Island in Australia, and I ...