why the rating is so low...

It's a great flick.

Too many folks can't take reality (yes, people do behave like they did in the movie) and also don't have enough of a healthy sense of humor.

This movie does depict what a jungle it can be out there for kids, and does so from a kid's point of view.

And some of it IS funny --

1) The way Dawn & Mark handle the kidnapping -- classic. They certainly don't miss a beat. 'probably his gall bladder' -- what kid logic.

2) Dawn's crush on the local rocker singing the cheesy songs -- again, classic.

3) Mark and the band ostensibly playing 'Satisfaction' LOL

4) Mark's single-minded obsession that nothing is worth doing unless you can put it on your college resume.

5) Dawn's dream.

6) The 'Dignity' paper that Dawn has to read in front of the class -- what she wrote was hilarious -- she tried to throw in what she thought the teacher wanted to hear along with some filler. The teacher was such a doof that she didn't even see through that.


The clueless parents, the unfair teachers, the peer pecking order, the sibling rivalry...all pitch perfect.











~~ Never trust the teller, trust the tale ~ ~ D.H. Lawrence