2011 Directed by Michael Pavone
A coming-of-age story that follows 12-year-old Andy Nichol, a bright student who, like most kids his age, will do anything to avoid conflict for fear of suffering overwhelming ridicule and punishment from his junior high school peers.
Chase Ellison Ed Harris Molly Parker Mia Rose Frampton Amy Madigan Renwick D. Scott II Randy Orton Yvette Rachelle Jordan Reynolds Daniel Yelsky Alex Hardee Sean Michael Cunningham Raymond Philip Michael Diamond Brett Lapeyrouse Camille Bourgeois Vanessa Cloke Joe Chrest Zachary Gordon Madison Pettis Bridger Zadina Jeremy Shada Shane Baumel
Thats What I Am, Eso es lo que Soy, Това съм аз, Αυτός Είμαι, זה מה שאני, 댓츠 왓 아이 엠, Štai koks aš esu, To cały ja, É Assim Que Eu Sou, Вот я какой, 这就是我, 這就是我
Underdogs and coming of age Moving relationship stories school, teacher, student, classroom or kids family, emotional, emotion, touching or kids surfing, teenager, friendship, adolescents or kids teenager, school, friendship, funny or nerds gay, sexual, relationships, feelings or homophobic Show All…
I'm a huge lover of coming of age movies, and the more coming of age movies I watch, the more I love it, and this movie is one of it, that's what I am.
A largely sweet entry from WWE Studios with a genuine performance from Ed Harris.
As obvious at it all may seem, we all enjoy a 'coming of age' drama, and for the most part That's What I Am carries itself competently.
Randy Orton turns up and RKO's all the school kids, killing 7 and placing many in comas.
Just kidding.
Probably the best movie I've ever purchased in Poundland, the lovely UK chain store where everything from biscuits to washing-up liquid costs a mere quid. It's mostly trash in the movie section, but you get the occasional gem, like this barely-released coming-of-age masterpiece produced by WWE Studios, of all places, back in 2011; apparently promptly forgotten by everyone, I hadn't heard of it until my fiancee picked up one of the several copies our favourite discount store had in stock.
I didn't really have high expectations, despite my love of the coming-of-age genre. Yet it turned out to be one of the most compelling and powerful portraits of adolescence I've ever seen. The period setting - suburban USA, 1965 -…
A sweet film that addresses harassment within school and the absurdity of the social statuses created within them. This film is really casual with it's approach and seems more human and down to earth with it's depiction.
Watched for research for a script I'm developing with LB member Jacob Padilla - letterboxd.com/jpadidal/
That's What I am is a coming of age / rites of passage story that centers around the theme of 'tolerance' and 'prejudice'. The attempt to be meaningful is there, but the execution is lacking. Many moments that feel 'almost, but not quite'. The child characters never felt as likable as the script wanted them to feel, and the adult characters feel two-dimensional and lacking nuance.
On the surface, the Wonder Years style voiceover and poor acting is hard to look past.
But, since I'm watching as research, here are some things I'm taking away:
Things this movie did well:
- Balanced multiple plots
-…
That's What I Am is equal parts heart and cheese. The film is produced by the WWE and I couldn't help but feel it was overcompensating for the 'machismo' of said organization, especially with Randy Orton's character. It's as if they made this film to get in the good books of certain organizations that accuse them of contributing to bullying. Yet there is something heartwarming about how wholesome it's trying to be even though it doesn't always succeed.
Ed Harris is his usual charming self as Mr. Simon. Molly Parker does her motherly thing without breaking a sweat. And Chase Ellison is great as Andy, a polar opposite from his role in Mysterious Skin, which he was phenomenal in.
A second-rate coming of age story from writer/director Michael Pavone, sort of like if you threw five iffy "Wonder Years" episodes on top of each other and filtered each one through the Hallmark Channel.
For a WWE Studios movie, it's decent. There's nothing outright terrible about it, really, but it's another one of those "adult narrates an eventful period from his childhood in the 60s" things. The narrator is uncredited Greg Kinnear, for what it's worth. Like most WWE Studios efforts, it comes off just a bit too much as an imitation of better pieces of media.
The movie does touch on stuff things like this normally might not -- a teacher (Ed Harris) possibly being a homosexual is a…
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"Let the hanging begin."
That's What I Am is a coming of age story circling a bunch of 8th graders about tolerance. Its themes about bullying and prejudice are not original at all and since it's deliberately set in the 60s to have a subplot about homophobia it feels kind of outdated and too restrained to surface level commentary to become something effective and memorable.
The set up for the story is pretty flimsy with most characters introduced never growing out of the trope role they're set to be. The film tries to build an interesting schoolyard microcosm at points but these moments are often too brief to stick and make a consistent overall picture.
A lot of the adult…
Oh man. This was tough. So I'll be brief. It models itself after coming of age stories like Stand by Me and The Wonder Years. It just doesn't have any of the depth needed to tell the tale. It is a real after school special kind of film that has a poorly written script, cardboard cutout characters, and nothing of interest to really watch.
Ed Harris and Amy Madigan are game to try but even their professionalism can't do much for the story...though I will say it's interesting to see Ed play very off type as a kind and soft spoken teacher of the year type. But that's about all the movie really has going for it.
A competent coming-of-age film. Perhaps a little too Wonder-Years-ish, but it’s heart is on the right place. Unfortunately, the characters are neither fleshed out enough to feel genuine, and aren’t stereotypes enough to be caricatures. In the same way the film shies away from really tackling the homophobia that it brings up, and it doesn’t push the comedic aspects enough to make it a farce. It’s a sweet ode to childhood days long gone, but it’s also so artificial that it just comes across as saccharine. It’s not a bad film, but it also leaves a lot of opportunities left untouched. Basically, I feel that movie tried to be unapologetically daring in as non-confrontational a way as possible.
