Tadpole (DVD)

Aka One for the boys. (Also aka something else on another op-site!) Yes, Tadpole is an American film about the burgeoning problems of a teenager?s love life, and it is a comedy, but don?t let that combination put you off. (What?s more, it also features that staple, someone with a passion for someone inappropriate, and ignorant of everyone else?s approaches.) But instead of one of the larky, snide, ugly things Hollywood produces, which presumes jokes about semen and flatulence are still humorous, this is a thankfully adult comedy regarding teenage life. All well and said, but it would still rank as something to aspire to for many teenage lads worldwide. ...  Read the complete review

Tadpole is another classic example of what having your film appear at Sundance can do for you. This $150,000 film was shot in 13 days on digital video and managed to get actors such as Sigourney Weaver, John Ritter and Bebe Neuwirth to star in it. After several awards Miramax bought it for $5 million, it?s US gross however was around half that but it still did wonders for careers. Aaron Stanford went on to score a part in X-Men 2 while Director Gary Winick has just scored a modest hit with 13 Going On 30. Tadpole is nothing original; it?s like The Graduate for a ...  Read the complete review

Gary Winick directs this little indie movie. He’s not exactly a big league director (previous credits include “Sam the man” and “13 going on 30”), but he sure managed to get a good cast together for this movie. Sigourney Weaver, John Ritter and Bebe Neurwith – those names were enough to get me out to see it at the cinema. The main character, the “tadpole” of the title, is Oscar Grubman a 15 year old boy – who is played by Aaron Stanford (“25th Hour”, “X-Men 2” and due to return to the screens in the next X-Men movie). To be honest, this is somewhat unfeasible – Stanford was about 23 when the movie was filmed, and he certainly doesn’t pass as a gawky ...  Read the complete review

Tadpole is one of the new breed of shot on digital video arthouse films. It starts off quite painfully, almost feeling like a bad film school production full of pretentious dialogue, stilted acting and grainy New York locations, but by the end of its short running length goes some way towards winning over the audience. We are introduced to the Tadpole of the title, the precocious 15 year old Oscar (Aaron Stanford) who it becomes clear disdains the seemingly simple girls of his own age, yearning instead for the more mature, deep and complicated charms offerred by Eve (Sigourney Weaver), slightly complicated by her being married to Stanley (John Ritter) who ...  Read the complete review