Little Manhattan

Puppy love is at the center of this mangy cinematic mutt revolving around a precocious 10-year-old boy's passion for a slightly older classmate. Gabe (Josh Hutcherson), whose parents are getting divorced but still live together for financial reasons, finds himself fortuitously paired with the object of his affection, Rosemary (Charlie Ray), in karate class (he also lurks about the sidewalk outside her apartment building and plots to “accidentally” bump into her in the park). Josh's efforts pay off for awhile, but when the girl pulls back, he suffers the torment of a jilted beau. Of course, there's a happy ending of sorts for both Gabe and his parents, and nothing between Gabe and Rosemary goes farther than a peck on the cheek (and a very chaste turn around the dance floor). But while director Mark Levin was obviously aiming at something charming here, Little Manhattan misses the mark by a country mile, coming across as stilted and vaguely creepy, not only because the premise itself is all too cute but also because Hutcherson never seems comfortable going through the arch routines imposed on him by the screenplay. In fact, sitting through this weird, grotesquely manipulative bit of whimsy is kind of like sucking on an ice cube for 90 minutes when each of your teeth is suffering from an exposed nerve. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include both widescreen and full screen versions, audio commentary by director Mark Levin and writer Jennifer Flackett, four deleted scenes with optional commentary (7 min.), a six-minute “From Scout to Screen” production featurette, the “Sheep Meadow Segment” (4 min.), a three-minute “Helmet Interview” featuring Levin and Flackett, and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)