Keith (2008)

Keith

The sum of all parts, doesn't always add up the way you'd imagine. Keith is a classic example. I'm not sure there's a single original thought put into the movie. So much of it feels like something I've seen elsewhere, but it honestly doesn't matter. Keith has what so few others got.

A story told with heart and soul, a convincing look at teenage choices and tons of simple charm. Its parts might be recycled, but it's put together with such care it runs like Swiss clockwork. It charms you in despite quite classic themes, but it's so balanced in where its story takes on new turns, where new revelations occur and how the emotions follow actions and actions results in emotions.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I began watching, but I sure wasn't expected to be blown away by such simplicity. Elisabeth Harnois and Jesse McCartney are both doing great portraying some tough teen balancing of life's checkbook, and the director Todd Kessler and the screenwriter David Zabel have taken Ron Carlson's story to the screen in perfect fashion.