Cast: Jacob Tierney, Noah Fleiss, Martha Plimpton, Joan Allen, Chris Penn
Director: Billy Weber
Producer: Martin Brest
Screenplay: Frank Deese
Cinematography: Don Burgess
Music: Thomas Newman
U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Josh (Jacob Tierney) and his brother Sam (Noah Fleiss) are on the run, but they're not fleeing because of family problems. Yes, there's a divorce in the family, Mom is about to re-marry a stuck-up pig, and Dad's stepkids are real jerks, but these aren't the real issues. Josh is on the lam because he thinks he killed an abusive drunk (Chris Penn), and Sam is with him because he believes one of his brother's more wildly improbable stories: "S.A.M." is an acronym for Strategically Altered Mutant, and he's about to be sold to the government to participate in a war in Africa. Together, the pair are headed for Canada and freedom.
How much are you willing to suspend your disbelief? In the answer to that question lies the degree to which you'll accept the underlying premise of Josh and S.A.M. There are enough nice little touches to keep the mountain of larger implausibilities cleverly camouflaged, but never completely hidden. As a result, while many individual scenes work quite well for either comic or dramatic value (more of the former than the latter), the film as a whole is lacking.
One of the most curious elements of Josh and S.A.M. is the inclusion of Martha Plimpton's Alison. Talk about underdeveloped characters and story potential left unearthed... She starts out as a plot device and never develops into much more, which is truly unfortunate considering the rare glimpses we're given of the person beneath the toughened exterior.
In many ways, this picture follows the time-honored pattern of many so-called "road movies", albeit with protagonists of an unusually young age. Despite being brothers, Josh and Sam start out antagonistic, and only through their various travels and travails do they come to recognize how important each is to the other. Kinship may not be binding, but friendship is -- or at least that's what Josh and S.A.M. would have you believe.
Although the two main characters are kids (ages 12 and 7, respectively), older viewers will get as much, or more, out of Josh and S.A.M. than younger ones. Some of the themes, and much of the humor, will escape the pre-teen crowd. Nevertheless, children will appreciate the adventure, so for parents who don't mind a few four-letter words, this is reasonable family entertainment.
Jacob Tierney and Noah Fleiss are excellent child actors. Tierney, the older of the two, has superior emotional range -- his quiet, honest reaction in the scene when his step-brothers are calling him a "homo" shows a remarkable grasp of acting skill. Josh's pain is eloquently presented, but the emotion is never overplayed. From beginning to end, it's hard to find an instance where Tierney's work is off-center.
Noah Fleiss, while lacking the subtlety of his on-screen brother, brings an element of energy and verve to his part. Sam doesn't have the depth of Josh, but Fleiss is capable enough to invest him with the humanity necessary to avoid the "caricature trap." It would have been easy for Sam to become the whining little brother, but he's always more than.
First-time director Billy Weber has a good sense of pacing, and Josh and S.A.M. never becomes dull or plodding. This trait isn't unexpected, since Weber's background is in editing. His previous credits include 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cop, and Top Gun, for which he earned an Academy Award Nomination.
Perhaps the most curious thing about Josh and S.A.M. is the timing of its release. Initially, Castle Rock decided on a mid-August date. This was scrapped by Columbia because of "unfavorable competition", leading to the next choice, which was mid-October. However, for some unfathomable reason, the October 15 opening was pushed back to November 24. Now, coming out amidst a rush of gargantuan holiday films, Josh and S.A.M. has little chance of being seen by more than a handful of people and, barring something unexpected, will vanish like a raindrop in a pond. This isn't a great film, but it probably deserves a less ignominious fate.
© 1993 James Berardinelli