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The Battle of Shaker Heights

Play trailer Poster for The Battle of Shaker Heights PG-13 Released Aug 15, 2003 1h 18m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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39% Tomatometer 59 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A quirky teen with a penchant for war reenactments, Kelly Ernswiler (Shia La Beouf) obsesses over military tactics with his buddy Bart (Elden Henson). The school bully (Billy Kay) is one of Kelly's regular headaches, and he also has to deal with a frustrating situation at home, where his father (William Sadler) is a recovering drug addict. Kelly's life gets even more complicated when he falls for Tabby (Amy Smart), Bart's pretty and soon-to-be-wed older sister.
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The Battle of Shaker Heights

The Battle of Shaker Heights

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Critics Consensus

LaBeouf is appealing, but The Battle of Shaker Heights feels too watered down and disjointed.

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Critics Reviews

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J. R. Jones Chicago Reader After the movie scored poorly at a test screening, Miramax vice president Rick Schwartz bullied directors Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin into playing up the comedic elements and soft-pedaling the family drama. Apr 6, 2010 Full Review Eric Harrison Houston Chronicle The film is well-acted and looks good, but it's so inconsequential and bland that you wonder what was it about the script that made anyone think it would make an interesting movie. Rated: C- Oct 3, 2003 Full Review Richard Roeper Ebert & Roeper It's too much going on, but I think that as was the case with Stolen Summer, the actors rise above the material and make it worth seeing. Sep 2, 2003 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Does anyone in this film actually care about anyone beyond themselves? Rated: 1.5/4.0 Sep 2, 2020 Full Review Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed Suffers from a terrible script with grossly under-developed sub-plots and characters... Apr 29, 2009 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Rated: 3/5 Nov 4, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Shaun K I love movies that do a really good job of showing you a little slice of life. This movie does that well, though there were a couple of moments that felt a little unlikely. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/09/23 Full Review don s An odd little indie spotlighting a teen who dislikes his father and re-enacts battles from past wars. Average performances by the actors, but one can't expect more when the story is so simple and the characters are merely marionettes that live only for the writers. Amy Smart and Shiri Appleby almost save this movie. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Shia carries what was probably a great script. It's a bit uneven because of the genre shift in the editing room, but in the end, to cap off season two of project greenlight, it really landed for me. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Shia carries what was probably a great script. It's a bit uneven because of the genre shift in the editing room, but in the end, to cap off season two of project greenlight, it really landed for me. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Stephen S Pretty dumb, though kind of interesting. I like the military reenactment angle for a comedy, but they don't really use it to their advantage much to truly distinguish this film. The reenactment scene towards the end of the film is still pretty funny though. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/27/15 Full Review Audience Member This movie may have one of the worst covers ever, but the film itself was fantastic. I have realized that Shia LaBeouf is so fun to watch as long as he sticks with quirky, funny, nerdy characters like he plays in this film. He was hilarious and the movie had plenty of funny moments. It was very short and to the point without a lot of filler so it moved along at a nice pace and only at the end did it seem to lose some of its luster. There were some dramatic moments and a little lesson to be learned in the end, but overall this was a great film all around and anyone looking for a comedy with some heart, check this little know film out. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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The Battle of Shaker Heights

Shia La Beouf in Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin's THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS. Shia La Beouf (L) and Amy Smart in Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin's THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS. Shiri Appleby (L) and Shia La Beouf in Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin's THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS. Shia La Beouf (L) and Elden Henson in Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin's THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS. Writer Erica Beeney (L) & producer Jeff Balis on the set of Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin's THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS. Writer Erica Beeney on the set of Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin's THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS. Shia La Beouf in Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin's THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS. Co-directors Kyle Rankin (L) & Efram Potelle (C) & producer Chris Moore (R) on the set of Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin's THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS. Shia La Beouf in Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin's THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS. Shia La Beouf (L) and directors Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin on the set of THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS. View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A quirky teen with a penchant for war reenactments, Kelly Ernswiler (Shia La Beouf) obsesses over military tactics with his buddy Bart (Elden Henson). The school bully (Billy Kay) is one of Kelly's regular headaches, and he also has to deal with a frustrating situation at home, where his father (William Sadler) is a recovering drug addict. Kelly's life gets even more complicated when he falls for Tabby (Amy Smart), Bart's pretty and soon-to-be-wed older sister.
Director
Kyle Rankin, Efram Potelle
Producer
Chris Moore, Jeff Balis
Screenwriter
Erica Beeney
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
Universal/Universal Int
Rating
PG-13 (Language|Some Drug References)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 15, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$279.3K
Runtime
1h 18m
Sound Mix
Surround
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