Common Sense Media Review
By Renee Schonfeld
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Goofy oddball tale has gross-out humor and some violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 7+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Cecil
What's the Story?
CECIL Stevens (Sark Asadourian) has a lot of problems. His insensitive, bickering parents have split up and he's moving to his grandmother's. He's got to start 4th grade in a new school. He lisps, which makes it very hard to say the name "Cecil Stevens." He knows the new kids he meets will laugh. They do! He's mortified! On the bright side, he meets a quirky girl named Abby (Christa Beth Campbell) who has his back almost immediately, and his Grandma Peggy (Mary Thoma) is very cool. It doesn't take much persuading from Abby to get Cecil to change his name. "Michael Jordan" is a good choice, Cecil decides, especially since he has a real flair for basketball. The two find a way to make it happen and Cecil "officially" becomes Michael Jordan. A dizzying array of complications erupt, however, when the school's very mean principal (Jay Dee Walters) cancels almost all the school's extracurricular activities -- including Abby's special favorite, the school newspaper -- so he can steal the money and pay off a debt. Can Cecil and Abby make enough money to save the newspaper by opening a "name-changing" business? Will the evil Principal Bloom escape from the bad guys who want their money back? Will the young Michael Jordan even make the school basketball team?
Is It Any Good?
In lots of ways, Spenser Fritz's film is a cut above the usual direct-to-DVD live-action fare offered for family viewing, but it's in a world of its own in terms of silliness and chaotic plotting. It's fast-paced, with purposeful slapstick-overacting from the grownups, and the story has a confusing labyrinth of plot elements. Writer-director Fritz goes all-out to make a kids' movie that's inventive and engaging. You want some animation? Check. Bullies? Check. A mob beating? Check. Fritz has also elicited some wonderfully natural performances from the kids (i.e., Christa Beth Campbell as Abby is a delight). Just don't expect a conventional direct-to-DVD experience for kids. The message gets lost in the madness, and Cecil doesn't even attempt to explain the nonsensical events that lead to its conclusion. Kids will be too busy giggling to care.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why fart, poop, and pee jokes are so funny. Why do you think kids (and some adults) laugh at what we call "gross-out" humor? Is it the embarrassment factor? Are you laughing WITH or AT the person who is pooping and farting? Why?
How are adults portrayed in Cecil? Who is the one grownup that Ceil and Abby trust? What is it that makes that person so trustworthy?
What did Cecil Stevens learn about being popular? Think about what it means to be yourself. How hard is it to try and be someone you're not? Are you aware that even kids who seem the most self-assured and accepted don't always feel good about themselves?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : January 22, 2019
- Cast : Sark Asadourian , Christa Beth Campbell , Jason London
- Director : Spenser Fritz
- Studio : Vision Films
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Topics : Friendship
- Run time : 80 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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