Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 27, 1993 TAG: 9311300079
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It is well made, though, with appealing characters and an unpredictable story. Viewers looking for something outside the Hollywood mainstream should give it a try.
Twelve-year-old Josh (Jacob Tierney) and his 7-year-old brother Sam (Noah Fleiss) belong to not one but two dysfunctional families. They live with their mother (Joan Allen) in Los Angeles where Sam, a quiet kid is tormented by his schoolmates. He and Josh squabble constantly. Mom ships them out to stay with their dad (Stephen Tobolowsky) in Florida while she goes traipsing off with her Eurotrash boyfriend.
Things are no easier for the boys with their father's second family. Josh's half-brothers call him a "homo" and do their best to drive him and Sam apart.
Finally, all those circumstances (and several more) combine and the two kids find themselves on the run. By then, Sam is convinced that he's really a S.A.M. - Strategically Altered Mutant - with "enhanced" physical and mental powers, and Josh is sure that he has killed a man. Since they've got the keys to a rental car, the only thing to do is to head for Canada.
The physical journey, of course, is less important than the boys' voyage of self-discovery. In that regard, Frank Deese's script is only partially successful. Josh and Sam are so complex, with such thorny domestic problems that it's impossible to introduce, develop and resolve them in a neat package.
Overall, director Billy Weber tells the story effectively, making the most of the Western landscape. He got believable performances from his young leads and from Martha Plimpton, as a hitchhiker.
Josh and S.A.M.: ** 1/2
A Columbia release playing at the Salem Valley 8. 94 min. Rated PG-13 for strong language, some violence.
by CNB