Reality show contestants compete to win lots of money by eating some rather disgusting stuff. People tend to forget that a similar thing happened when they were kids.
Not everyone remembers those days of mixing foods up in stomach-churning combinations or the mystery meat in the cafeteria or the paste that that kid in the corner would scarf down. But these trials weren’t for money; it was popularity to be won, just like in the children’s movie “How to Eat Fried Worms.”
Billy’s (Luke Benward) the new kid, an automatic death sentence in terms of grade school. He’s automatically singled out by the bully of the school, Joe (Adam Hicks), and his band of cronies and befriended by Erika (Hallie Eisenberg).
Joe and his gang play a little trick on Billy by putting worms in his soup container, thus christening him “Worm Boy.” To get them off his case, Billy says he eats worms all the time and says he can eat 10. His recipe of choice involves them being fried.
To his dismay, Billy gets challenged to eat those 10 worms in various cooked forms by Joe. Billy takes this bet, knowing that it’s either this or public humiliation that would tarnish his reputation forever.
Brave? Of course. The only problem? Billy has a weak stomach, causing him to vomit up whatever the contents of his stomach are at the time.
“How to Eat Fried Worms” may not seem like the most appetizing movie title or subject. Actually, most viewers will probably not want to eat for some time after watching this movie. But young boys will eat this movie up. Parents should be sure to keep all worms and cooking utensils out of reach until the fascination dies down.
Loosely based on the book of the same name by Thomas Rockwell, “Worms” changes more than a few things about the plot. The novel had Billy originally eating 15 worms and cooking them himself with his friend Tom. “Worms” the movie has Billy as a loner with a team of kids against him and he’s not allowed to make any rules about the bet. The movie is in the same vein as another novel turned movie “Holes.”
The 10 worms that are cooked up get wonderful names like “The Green Slusher,” “The Burning Fireball” and “Radioactive Slime Delight," as if that would make them any more palatable. The audience will be visibly squirming in their seats as the worms wriggle on screen.
With a cast of almost entirely child actors, “Worms” shows promise for future on screen stars. The one stand out is 6-year-old Ty Panitz, who plays Billy’s little brother Woody. He’s beyond adorable and steals every scene.
An interesting addition to “Worms” is animation. The opening scenes which explain Billy’s weak stomach are all rough cartoons which spare the audience from seeing Benward actually releasing his lunch.
Also good to know, “No worms were harmed” during the filming of the movie, in case anyone was wondering. That disclaimer was pasted at the end of the movie in a clever and charming way.
Originally from Des Plaines, Ill., Heather moved to Milwaukee to earn a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University. With a tongue-twisting last name like Leszczewicz, it's best to go into a career where people don't need to say your name often.
However, she's still sticking to some of her Illinoisan ways (she won't reform when it comes to things like pop, water fountain or ATM), though she's grown to enjoy her time in the Brew City.
Although her journalism career is still budding, Heather has had the chance for some once-in-a-lifetime interviews with celebrities like actor Vince Vaughn and actress Charlize Theron, director Cameron Crowe and singers Ben Kweller and Isaac Hanson of '90s brother boy band Hanson.
Heather's a self-proclaimed workaholic but loves her entertainment. She's a real television and movie fanatic, book nerd, music junkie, coffee addict and pop culture aficionado.
