Flipped

Rob Reiner's warm and wonderful coming-of-age comedy sweetly captures the emotional pain of growing up. Second-graders Juli and Bryce first meet in 1957. Free-spirited Juli (Morgan Lily, later Madeline Carroll) is from a family of non-conformists: she raises chickens and sells their eggs, and her favorite view of the neighborhood is from the top of a huge sycamore tree. When Bryce's (Ryan Ketzner, later Callan McAuliffe) traditionalist family moves in across the street, it's love at first sight for Juli, who dreams of sharing her first kiss with Bryce. But Bryce is not interested, remaining aloof and even antagonistic until eighth grade, when he suddenly sees Juli, her family, and his own judgmental clan from a different point of view, and learns about compassion and the real value of friendship. Adapted from Wendelin Van Draanen's popular YA novel, Flipped is a character-driven tale of agony and triumph, frustration and first love, a film that strikes a nostalgic chord about that first kiss, first crush, and first rejection. The ensemble acting is excellent, with Rebecca De Mornay and Anthony Edwards as Bryce's uptight parents; and Penelope Ann Miller, Aidan Quinn, and Kevin Weisman as Juli's down-to-earth family, along with John Mahoney as Grandpa. Offering funny and fresh family fare, Flipped is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the featurette “Flipped: Anatomy of a Near Kiss” with costars Madeline Carroll and Callan McAuliffe (4 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are “The Difference Between a Boy and a Girl” featurette with Carroll and McAuliffe (7 min.), an “Embarrassing Egg-Scuses” segment featuring Carroll on raising chickens and hatching the perfect egg (5 min.), “How to Make the Best Volcano” with McAuliffe teaching the steps to build a volcano (5 min.), and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package—on Blu-ray—for a charming film.] (S. Granger)