Secondhand Lions 2003 By Rancosto on Dec 19, 2007 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

12-year-old Walter (Haley Joel Osment) gets to spend the summer with his two retired uncles whom he has never met before. The uncles, Garth (Michael Caine) and Hub (Robert Duvall), live in an old farm house in Texas. They are rumored to be very rich, and their greedy relatives are trying all they can to get into their will. Walter's mother is no exception; as she drops her son at the farmhouse, she instructs him to find out where the old fellows keep their money. Walter cares nothing about that though. He is not happy about being left with two eccentric uncles who have no phone, no TV, and entertain themselves by shooting at traveling salesmen. The uncles aren't thrilled about having to take care of a teen boy, either - at first. But later on they gradually open up to Walter, sharing with him most incredible stories from their adventurous past and teaching the boy quite a few things about honor and manhood.

I have heard Michael Caine talk about this film in an interview and call it one of the warmest movies he has done in years, comparable only to The Muppet Christmas Carol. I agree. Secondhand Lions is indeed one of the best family-friendly movies I have seen. It is a smart comedy with plenty of laughs, and yet it manages to touch on several serious themes.

The DVD boasts generous extra features, of which I would especially recommend the 30 minutes of deleted / alternative scenes. Three documentaries are dedicated to the screenplay, the making of the movie, and young actor Haley Joel Osment.