Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life is watchable, but would be better if it practiced what it preached.  It talks about the values of individuality and creativity, while the script follows lockstep with just about every tween cliche that you see on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel TV sitcoms.  At the same time, the movie seems a bit overstuffed, combining elements of a tween comedy, animation, and even family drama concerning the hero's past.  There are some clever lines here, but the whole thing is too uneven to work.

Based on a series of Young Adult books co-authored by mystery crime writer, James Patterson, the film follows a young and imaginative protagonist named Rafe (Griffin Gluck), who prefers doodling far off alien worlds in his sketchbook than his current reality.  His single mom (Lauren Graham) seems like a smart woman, but she somehow doesn't realize that her new boyfriend (Rob Riggle) is a materialistic bozo.  He's also just been transferred to a new school after being kicked out of the last two he attended (for reasons the movie keeps to itself), and said school is run by the strict Principal Dwight (Andy Daly), who sees Rafe's creative drawings as a sign of trouble, and proceeds to not only confiscate his sketchbook, but destroy it.  Rafe and his best friend/sidekick (Thomas Barbusca) decide that the best way to fight back against Dwight's rules is to break into school every night, and create massive art projects that go against every guideline in the Principal's book.

The movie expects us to go with a lot of things that are hard to swallow.  Things like, how does Rafe's mom not realize that her new boyfriend is a jerk until the last 10 minutes of the movie, when he plainly displays his ways and intentions in front of her throughout the film?  And why is there absolutely no security whatsoever at the school, allowing Rafe and his buddy to sneak in every night, and fill entire rooms with post-it notes, switch the school bell to a fart sound, and mess with the sprinkler system?  I know, I know, it's a movie for kids.  And if the movie gave me more to think about, I wouldn't mind so much.  But aside from the occasional clever line (at one point, Rafe's friend tells him, "If I've learned anything from playing Call of Duty, other than how to swear in 30 different languages..."), it doesn't seem like much thought went into this.

The filmmakers throw in some animated sequences representing Rafe's overactive imagination, which are fun, but are ultimately unnecessary.  There's also a rather odd plot twist that occurs late in the film that tries to add a level of sentimentality and tragedy to the young hero's past that would have been more effective it it didn't feel like a desperate attempt to wring tears out of the audience.  It's out of place, and comes out of nowhere.  And why introduce this dramatic subplot if you're just going to wrap it up with a funny little cartoon sequence that will likely confuse younger viewers?  I guess this is director Steve Carr's (Paul Blart: Mall Cop) way of adding heart to the story, but he mishandles it.  Everything else about this movie, from the performances to the writing, is strictly by the book.  Nothing is terrible, but it feels bland and overly safe.

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life belongs on television, where it will likely be played endlessly on the tween-centered networks for years to come.  It's the kind of movie that feels like an afterthought for everyone involved.  Even the young actors at the center of the film seem to know they deserve better.  They do, and so does the audience. 

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