It was good, but kind of confusing. I haven't read the book though so maybe that has something to do with it.
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melissag-717 March 2009The movie's title and DVD cover kept catching my attention at the movie store. I finally rented it and was not disappointed. I watched it without having heard about the book or anything so I went in unbiased. On its own, I'd say it was quite intriguing. It kept you guessing... even after it ended. The ending was rather unclear, but fascinating and puzzling in a good way. I'd say, if you have read the book, don't spoil the movie for somebody else because you did not think the movie gave the book justice. Just judge the movie on its own. Sure it was low budget, but just appreciate it for its good points--the intriguing plot, the beautiful scenery, and the intense emotion. Over all, I would recommend this movie to anyone who is able to branch out and be adventurous. Just watch it and see if you like it. Judge for yourself.
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jasonay30 October 2003I'll admit that this movie, which was based on Robert Cormier's young adult novel, must have been difficult to make. The novel jumped through many time frames and had many scenes which would have been difficult to capture on film. But it simply lacks the subtle horror of the book, and the low budget really shows. Also, why change the ending? The ending of the novel might have been bleaker, but in the movie the ending left many questions unanswered.
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dwj-52 July 2007The people who made I Am The Cheese disregarded the atmosphere of the original novel. The movie is bright and cheery. The interrogation scenes take place in a well-lit, normal-looking office. The doctor is basically nonthreatening. The drama of Adam's situation is underplayed and subdued, and the movie insults the book by adding an ending that fits the movie's sanitized view of the story. A new version of this film would be really cool, if any studio had the initiative to take on the project. Since the cast is so small and the story requires little in the way of special effects, an independent production could work out very well. Today's audiences would probably react well to a version of I Am The Cheese that stays true to the style of the book -- dark, threatening, and mysterious. It's a shame nobody's bothered to dig up the rights.
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About the only people who will have any appreciation for this movie are homesick Vermonters...I grew up riding my bike on the same roads as Adam, so it was a hoot to see Marshfield & Barre from back in the day. It was even better to hear the gold-domed State Capitol Building described as a "court house." Don't bother renting this film- it's truly awful. And the ending sucks. I don't understand why it was ever released on DVD...maybe it was an attempt to capitalize on the study hall market- bored kids watching the movie because they can't be bothered to crack open the book...Why on earth Robert Wagner chose to get involved with such a lame project is beyond me...
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PaulNewmanIsDead18 April 2006the title says it all, "I am the Cheese". This movie is nothing but cheesy.
The movie makes no sense at all for those who haven't read the book, it makes a little sense to those who have read the book.
The acting is terrible, the character lacked charisma it's almost like they are reading from a script.
And last of all, the movie is boring, they are good boring movies like " lost in Translation" etc. This movie is everything you don't want you movie to be.
Anyway, DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE. It's the ultimate embarrassment if anyone catch you watching this. The book is a worth read but STAY AWAY FORM THIS -
mattkratz10 January 2008This movie gets confusing, but once you make sense of it you will like it even better. That's part of the fun. It was based on the book of the same name, and follows it pretty faithfully. The story involves a kid who is confined to a psychiatric ward. He is apparently having delusions and is confused about what is real and what isn't. (Can anyone say, "A Beautiful Mind?")He has two birth certificates, his parents are dead, and he has to sort thru his memories to decide what is real. Confused yet? It will all make sense at the end when you see it. I will not give anything else away.
*** out of **** -
roneill-703073 June 2022The film I Am The Cheese is my absolute least favorite movie. It is bewildering and does not entice the audience one bit. I have no idea why any of the actresses or actors featured in the movie chose to involve themselves in such a terrible project. I don't recommend watching this film at all, for it is a complete waste of your time.
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studhead1823 April 2002Not only did this movie have bad acting. But yet it was boring. I read the book in school and found the book really interesting and good. But this...goodness they tried to change some things...they changed the ending. i give this movie sadly... 3 out of 10... and least they tried.
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jmorgan-1523 February 2008First I must admit that I could not sit through the entire film. After only 30 minutes, I realized that none of the characters from the book were in the film, just card board cut-outs. They took a nervous and fearful Adam and made him a smiling and waving awkward kid. Heck, Amy wasn't even a tomboy. They butchered the atmosphere as well, no suspense or sense of foreboding. So I shipped to the end and guess what, they butchered the ending too.
Read the book, it has awesome characters and a story that builds and keeps you thinking and an ending worth talking about. As for the movie, shame on everyone involved in its making and shame on you if you watch it after reading this. -
eddie3241 June 2005While not a perfect film, it had a lot of film elements that came together quite nicely. The spoiler of this *** AND DON'T READ ON IF YOU WANT TO ENJOY THE TWIST *** is how much the subject matter was similar to A Beautiful Mind. Creating people, places and events all in the subconscious. The Vermont locations were fabulous. I don't think had this film been made elsewhere, there wouldn't have been that solitude of a young man, his bike and a mysterious wrapped gift he's taking to his father. Scenes with town folk and some local bullies may have been slight plot devices, but that is entirely miniscule compared to how they move the story along. I Am The Cheese (a metaphor title-listen to The Farmer In The Dell nursery rhyme throughout the film) has an independent feel to it and it's obvious low budget gives it a "you-are-there-on-those-old-roads-in-Vermont" feel. I'm curious to know why Robert Wagner, fresh from his successful "Hart To Hart" series, took on this film.
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stevenb3015 August 2005Why did they even bother? This film is based on a book that falls into the general category of "nothing is at it seems to be." The film, possibly due to its complete lack of pacing, never gives the viewer the feeling it seems to be anything coherent. There is no dramatic tension for anyone that hasn't read the book. Which is a waste given the talented cast.
But ultimately, the film's biggest sin is the ending (SPOILER). The book's payoff is the horror that reveals itself bit by bit -- culminating in the revelation that Adam is doomed. The changed ending (that some would consider "happy") denigrates this film to a fourth rate movie of the week. -
speedster27 August 2022I read the book in junior high in the 80s and first watched the movie in the 90s while working at a video store. I recently rewatched the movie a few times and still enjoy it. Thoughtful musical score, great scenery, well-acted especially by Robert MacNaughton whose portrayal of loneliness and desperation is outstanding. Yes, it could have benefited from a larger budget (think Running on Empty) but it still works and the lower budget helps capture the bleakness in Adam's life. Not for those looking for a slick Hollywood production but if you enjoy an honest little production made with love you will like it.
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praeriedog-120 February 2021I first read this book when I was in the 7th grade. I didn't understand it all then, because there are a lot of levels to the story. I so identified with Adam, felt so alone, felt all this stuff inside me, wanted to be a writer and kept a journal full of what was in my head, felt like screaming and screaming and never stopping. I'd read the book twice, I think, when I chanced upon the movie late one night on cable more than 20 years ago. I was with a friend, and couldn't really let myself go into the movie like I wanted, but remembered liking it, and especially the punch (you'll know what I'm talking about if you see the movie). I spent years looking for a copy, and finally found a VHS copy, which I promptly ordered.
When it showed up, I took the TV and the VCR and set them up in my bedroom and sat on my bed in the corner to watch it. This was such a personal story to me, I wasn't going to share that first watching with anyone. It was...very very well done. The story has changed slightly from the book, especially the parts with Amy, but I was glad to see them. I'd have loved it being just like the book, of course, but the changes made, kind of give Adam an "adolescent growing up" feel. The soundtrack is very subdued, but perfect. Violin, Oboe, Cello, I'm not sure which is used, but it's about the only instrument used through much of the film, and it really adds that touch of loneliness, of being so alone, especially on Adam's bike ride. There's a bit of music that plays at times throughout that mimics part of "The Farmer in the Dell" that has stayed with me all these years, as Adam, eternally riding his father's bike on that lonely ride to Monument in my head. They both play together in my mind.
Robert MacNaughton, who played Elliot's older brother in "E.T.", was the perfect Adam. I've seen several different covers for the book, one of which shows a boy, who looks to be about 8 years old at the most, in some kind of prison cell or something similar. And while the feel of the cover captures the essence of the book, the boy is far too young. Robert MacNaughton is just the right age and does such a great job in this, you have to wonder why his acting career never took off. As I'm watching this, he IS Adam. It's like there isn't any acting involved. Someone followed Adam around with a camera filming his life, and released it as a movie.
Some people talk about the cold relationship he and Doctor Brint have, how unrealistic it is, and thus makes a poorer movie. I disagree completely. For Adam's part, all that has happened to him, though he can remember only parts of it, have lead him to be distrustful of anybody in authority (in fact, that was the theme of Cormier's book, man versus government/authority and how man ultimately loses), and Brint is certainly an authority figure, and one who seems to be trying get specific things out of Adam, all the while trying to help him. There's at least one scene where Brint is asking him specific questions and Adam starts to get paranoid and asks repeatedly to end the session. So it's no surprise Adam doesn't warm up completely to Doctor Brint. And as for Brint's part, he knows, ultimately, what is going to happen to Adam once he gets all the information his superiors are wanting, and thus I can easily see him not wanting to get close to this particular patient. Part of him just wants to think of Adam as a tool, so when the eventual end happens, it won't affect him emotinally, but another part of him is still the doctor, wanting to help, and can't distance himself completely. Which is why, at the end of the movie, he does nothing when he sees Adam through the window, on his bike, riding near the van.
The only actor I had problems with was Adam's father (Don Murray), who gives a completely wooden performance in this, which is surprising considering I've seen him do a fine job in other movies, like "Quarterback Princess," and "Peggy Sue Got Married."
This has the feel of a low-budget movie, but that very feel works to its benefit. More money, a slicker production, would have taken away from the essence of the movie, that core feeling that runs through both the movie and the book.
The movie begins with Adam waking up, putting on his coat and picking up a wrapped package, and starting off on his bike. It switches after a bit to Adam in a room, meeting Doctor Brint. It switches back and forth between the bike ride and the psychiatric sessions with Brint, and scenes from Adam's life as Brint helps him to remember them. The bike ride is not uneventful, but always lonely, even when other people are encountered. The music meshes perfectly with the scenes, and once the movie is over, you find yourself thinking about all the different levels to this story. The book has them all, but the movie really helps to bring them out. The endings are different between the movie and the book, but unlike most book-to-movie adaptations, I don't mind. After years of living with the book, and that ride, and those sessions, in my head, I needed the ending the movie gave me.
I highly recommend watching the movie and reading the book, most especially to those not yet adults, but to people of all ages. It is a tale that makes you think, that makes you feel, and doesn't just provide an hour and a half of entertainment easily forgotten when the next movie is on. This one will stay with you for a very long time, if not forever. -
TheCheesyOne18 March 2004I hate to say it, but this movie is possibly the worst movie I have ever seen. If I hadn't read the book and done an in depth analysis for school on the book, I would have not had a clue what was going on. Not only was the acting dry and the dialogue weak at best, the score was terrible, and the ending made no sense. This movie really did not do the book justice. The low budget showed, and it lacked the certain something that Robert Cormier's books have. Adam Farmer's character was played so dryly that half the time, I had no idea what was going on, and what scene they were butchering. Dr. Brint was not...Dr. Brint-ish, and the ending threw me off completely. Call me dumb, but the only acting I thought was decent was on the part of Edna. "He's taking something, I think he's on drugs!!" Teehee. Avoid this movie at all costs, and don't ignore people's warnings on how truly awful this is.
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wforeman25 August 2000this was an outstanding film with some very funny moments. it was one of the classic films of the eighties and i'm suprised that no one else has reviewed this classic tale.
this film is a must for all the families so rush out and rent it now. you wont want to take it back
10 out of 10