Walter is very shy and timid and not very outspoken which can cause him problems. His mother who is not very responsible is always leaving him trying to find her next boyfriend and possible husband and it has affected Walter to basically hide in a shell. When his mother goes off on another one of her searches she decides to leave Walter with his two aging uncles. It’s a two fold plan as for one she gets rid of Walter for the summer to go searching for her next boyfriend and two the uncles have just reappeared after being missing for nearly 40 years with great amounts of money and wealth. She figures she can have Walter find its location while he stays there as there are a great many rumors circulating about how they acquired it from being bank robbers to earning a reward from a Sheik. The uncles who are not inclined to have guests reluctantly take the boy in and began to show him a world of magic and wonder. For the uncles seem to have lived great and adventurous lives and have many stories to tell. But Walter who is accustomed to being lied to does not know what to take for truth and what to take for the fanciful tales of two old men. But as Walter and his uncles grow closer many of the mysteries of life and love will be unfolded to him and he will find a family that he has always dreamed of.

Sometimes despite a movie having a lot wrong with it the movie can still be quite enjoyable and make up for its many problems. I think it has to do a lot with charisma and charm and the ability to put together a chemistry between the characters that is so realistic that it makes up for all its faults. This movie does that, yes there is a lot of things wrong with it but in the end its turns out to be a very good movie that wins us over with its charm. One of the main problems has to be Haley Joel Osment who has proven in the past that he is a great actor but is in that awkward stage of puberty where not only does he look gangly but also is voice cracks and changes pitches at least two dozen times during the movie. He still does an admirable job acting and once he moves from the awkward stage he should be back to some of his better performances. But what makes the movie is Robert Duvall who really pulls of the grumpy old uncle with undeniable charm and dignity that just absolutely makes the movie. While Michael Caine plays a good part as the other uncle it is Duvall who stole the screen whenever he was on it. Yes, the movie is formulistic at times and the ending is exactly what you would expect but despite all the movies problems and foibles it was still a charming and entertaining movie that was worth the price of admission.
3.5 stars out of 5