Bridge to Terabithia: Review

Given the considerable amount of acclaim that has surrounded Bridge to Terabithia, both the children's book and feature film, it was with mild anticipation that I sat down to watch Gabor Csupo's adaptation. I guess thats why its so disappointing to say that I was lukewarm at best on the film and rather than finding a children's classic, the film was painfully mediocre at times, never living up to what it could have been. It treads the line between being a fantasy and coming of age story, and while this is not to say that the two are mutually exclusive, when it comes down to the film's finale, it is its inability to fully meld the two genres that is its ultimate downfall: the fantastical elements are never given full enough attention and the coming of age story is marred by hokey schoolyard bullying and musical numbers.

Jesse Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) is something of a social outcast, a young boy from a working class family that has never fit in with a group of friends at school. It isn't until he is beat in a footrace by the new girl, Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb), and subsequently "followed home" until he finds a friend. After all, you see, the new girl lives down the street from him and despite his initial hesitancy, the two form a bond over an imaginary world that they create by swinging over a river into a forest. That imaginary world, Terabithia, allows them a place to escape from their everyday ills: chores, bullies and siblings. The duo's relationship is never anything but contentious, that is until the film's concluding act, in which it is made out to be the best thing in the world. Up until then, Jesse views Leslie with a mix of love and hate, deriding her fantastical creations as wonderful one minute and ridiculous the next.

The audience has the same issue with those creations as they are given minimal screen time and never fully feel like a real part of the story but more of a simple diversion, much like they are with the kids. This approach would be fine if the real world narrative had been stronger. However, it is more of a string of clichés and stereotypes than anything else. When one walks away from the film, the only moral of the story seems to be that being nice to people, your friends, your siblings, your parents is the cool thing to do and valuing friendships is one of the most important aspects of living a happy life. I don't disagree with these assertions but they have been made time and time again.

Unlike some of the more recent Pixar movies, which deal with deeper but still meaningful themes for children and are the current pinnacle of family entertainment, Bridge to Terabithia is a one trick pony, ending in the ultimate of clichés. Many have made out the ending to be a deeply saddening affair and while it is moving, never does it reach the heights (or lows) of some of the film's predecessors. It feels manipulative and forced, a twist that happens so quickly and is so painfully obvious, the artificial emotional effect never really hit me. Instead, Bridge's climax is essentially My Girl 3 and what might have been effective 15 years ago is now no more than a re-hash, regardless of when the source material was published (1977).

The cast here is adequate but never spectacular. The children's performances are hit and miss, as one might expect, with Hutcherson and Robb as definite standouts from the group. The bully of the school, Janice Avery (Lauren Clinton), makes her character into more of a joke than actual threat. Watching the film with three guys in their early 20's elicited more laughs as Janice's antics than feelings of sympathy. None of us could figure out why more kids didn't stand up to her, despite her ludicrous demands. She struck us more as the type of girl who would have been mocked, rather than doing the mocking. Robert Patrick leads the cast of adults, who handle the material well, making the real world half of the film much better than the Terabithia side.

Ultimately, Bridge to Terabithia was a disappointment, a film that doesn't come close to living up to the considerable hype. For children, it may be a meaningful and sad film that will resonate with them. For me, it seemed like just another film dealing with themes that have been dealt with before and in better ways. While I would not venture as far as to say that the film is bad (it really isn't), it just seems more mediocre than anything else. Given the hefty weight behind the source material, one could have hoped for so much more. Rather, what we have is a schizophrenic film that never makes up its mind as to what it wants to be.

**