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Roy Eberhardt (Logan Lerman) is used to being the new kid in school—because his dad’s job keeps moving his family around. Roy had just settled into his new school in Montana when his parents decided it was time to move on again—this time to Florida. So, once again, Roy is the new kid—and he’s got to try to make new friends while trying to avoid the school bully, who seems determined to make Roy’s life miserable.
On the bus to school one day, Roy notices a mysterious kid running barefoot beside the bus. When he decides to follow the strange shoeless kid, Roy finds himself caught up in a battle to protect a bunch of endangered owls from having their homes destroyed by a construction crew that’s in town to build the latest in a popular chain of pancake restaurants.
If you’ve read anything by Carl Hiaasen, you’ll pretty much know what to expect from Hoot—except that Hoot, written with a younger audience in mind, is a toned-down version of the usual. As you might expect, the story revolves around the destruction of Florida’s nature, as developers and businessmen and tourists fight for their piece of paradise. There’s also a rough, mysterious character who’s determined to stop them, no matter what it takes. In Hiaasen’s adult novels, it’s the former-environmentalist-governor-gone-mad, who calls himself Skink. This time, it’s the shoeless kid who lives in an abandoned boat and who’s known only as Mullet Fingers (played by Cody Linley). Both will do whatever it takes to save Florida’s environment—even if it means becoming a bit of an outlaw.
Hoot also has the same quirky humor you’d expect from Hiaasen—the best of which comes from Luke Wilson. Wilson’s subtle, awkward humor is perfect for the role of the well-meaning yet bumbling Officer David Delinko. The poor guy tries so hard, but he can’t seem to do anything right—except, of course, for making viewers laugh.
Add to that a tropical soundtrack (and a cameo) by Jimmy Buffett, and you’ve got a fun family movie that’s a special treat for Carl Hiaasen fans—young and old alike. Be warned, though, that you might have to have a chat with your kids after watching it, to explain to them that there might be better ways to go about changing the world—ways that don’t get you in trouble with the law.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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