Harold Review-By Kelsey Zukowski

Starring: Spencer Breslin, Cuba Gooding Jr., Nikki Blonsky, Ally Sheedy, Stella Maeve, Chris Parnell
Directed By: T. Sean Shannon
Written By: T. Sean Shannon, Greg Fields
Released: 2008
Grade: B-

Harold is a movie about the hardships of trying to fit in growing up. Change is a reoccurring theme that comes up since it is always easier to be accepted by those who have grown up with you and know the person that you really are. Harold is yanked out of this environment that seems to be the only thing helping him keep things together. The new environment he finds himself in seems to be very judgmental and hard to impress. This would be hard for any kid, but Harold seems to be facing impossible standards as he happens to be a bald 13-year-old and widely seen as nothing more than a freak.

After Harold’s mom (Sheedy) gets a new, higher paying job, Harold is forced to move. This is worse than just having to adjust to a new town. He knows that once he gets there no one is going to see him, just his bald head. Surely enough, this is the reaction he gets. He constantly gets picked on by everyone and is always getting made fun of. Harold likes one of the most popular girls in school and although she is nice enough to him, it is clear that she isn’t interested in him. Harold does find some friendliness in the nerds of the school, mainly Rhonda (Blonsky), who is really the first one to befriend him. Still looking at how well his older sister, Shelly (Maeve) is doing, makes things worse. She instantly becomes one of the most popular girls, joins the cheerleading squad, and begins dating Patrick (Robert Gorrie), one of the best looking guys in school. Harold does find an angle since everyone assumes he is an old man. He buys Patrick and his friends alcohol in exchange for not getting beat up and a ride home.

This doesn’t completely take the heat off of Harold. His gym coach, Coach Vanderpool (Parnell) seems to always be on his case and keeps on giving the other kids reason to beat up on him. Luckily, Harold makes friends with the janitor, Cromer (Gooding Jr.). He becomes his mentor, always helping him get adjusted and looking out for him. When things don’t go so well Cromer decides that it is time to fight back. There is a big annual go cart racing tournament and everyone seems to be involved, including the kids in Harold’s school that just won’t leave him alone. Cromer reconstructs Harold’s machine to make him eligible and to show everyone else that he is not giving up without a fight.

Even though he had a supporting role, Cuba Gooding Jr. was the star in this film. He showed genuine charisma and was very caring. He served as a great mentor and friend and his storyline was one of the most appealing. Spencer Breslin did pretty well as Harold, yet the part was constricted and didn’t give him much to really explore. Nikki Blonsky was a joy once again. Her character here did have the same fondness for dancing and was equally cheery. Her real goal was in go-cart racing, which was the most popular things to do in town. She is very sweet and nice, even when others around her aren’t deserving of this. Chris Parnell was pretty funny as the angered coach who is really just another bully to Harold. He used sarcasm well in his role, which made him seem like more of a jerk. Fred Williard as Harold’s doctor and Rachel Dratch as his teacher also had some amusing, but small cameos in the movie.

The one thing that really brought Harold down is just how stereotypical they made the main character. Just because he was bald they made him to be an old man living in a kid’s body. He lived for Murder She Wrote, claims his bones aching can predict the weather, and can’t stop talking about his bunions on his feet. He even chases kids out of his yard yelling at them when they try to get their ball that fell in his yard. All the clichés are there and it is obviously supposed to be funny, but it really just gets to be a pattern after awhile. I really wish he would have been portrayed as the typical kid he claimed to be. The character really wasn’t able to be developed enough. The funniest moments actually come from the Asian convenient store owner that Harold often buys liquor from. He starts to become suspicious of Harold, but not about his age. He thinks that Harold is gay and is interested in younger men. He has a number of disbelieving sly comments about this which are very funny.

Harold is an underdog story of triumph. Harold’s life really seems to suck. Even his mother is constantly favoring his sister who seems to already have the perfect life. The understanding that arises between Harold and his sister shows a definite growing point proving that both of them can put their differences aside. Really in the end the people who actually matter see Harold for who he is. Harold is not without flaws and could have benefited from some unique characterizations, still it is a decent story and an enjoyable enough film that has a bright supporting cast and an interesting student-teacher relationship, or in this case a student-janitor relationship.