If the title of the film "How to Eat Fried Worms" gives you the feeling that you might gag… watching the film won’t help. But if you have a fairly strong stomach and have been able to hold on to your childhood memories and imagination, this is a fun, albeit silly, movie you can watch with the family. I first saw the trailer in theatres and wondered why the audience (made up of kids and young parents) got so excited. My wife was included in the revelry and explained that "How to Eat Fried Worms" was a favorite book of hers growing up. I guess the 12 year difference does come with a few bits of unshared knowledge (thankfully she does know who the Beatles are…). She explained the plot of the book (which turned out to be fairly close to the film) as being about a boy who moves to a new school, and is the case in any interesting story, accidentally makes a few missteps. Unfortunately for Billy (Luke Benward), his missteps cause him to cross paths with the school bully, Joe (Adam Hicks).

When Billy finds that his thermos has been filled with worms, he stands up for himself and tries to deflate the bully's ego by stating that he eats worms all the time. The statement backfires on him when Joe challenges him to eat 10 worms over the course of a day. Will he do it? Should he do it? Would YOU do it?

I watched "How to Eat Fried Worms" the other day with the kids (which includes my wife…) and enjoyed it for the simplicity of the story, as well as the creativity of the chefs. Seeing how many different ways the kids come up with to prepare the worms reminded me a little of Bubba Blue's ramblings about shrimp. I was also glad to see that the child actors in the film were better than average performers, most of the time seeming like real kids instead of the 'little adults' they are generally groomed to be. The movie was as fun and lively as it was gross and disgusting. There is no doubt in my mind that kids will love this film every bit as much as mine did, though any parents who sadly left their childhood's behind will undoubtedly squirm and wriggle just as much as the items on the menu.

New Line is releasing the film on DVD, which was where we had the chance to see it. Afterwards we took in the special features (though the kids didn't stick through all of them), starting out with the aptly named 'Gag' Reel and music video by (ready for this?) The Rockin' Worms. The kids also enjoyed the making of featurette which focused more on how much fun it was to make the movie than how it was actually made. They even stayed for the handful of deleted scenes. I couldn’t make them sit still for the commentary though, which I'm kind of sorry for. The commentary is moderated by director Bob Dolman, who is joined by several of the cast members. For the most part, Dolman pretty much takes a backseat and lets the kids do a lot of the talking. This was one of the more fun commentaries I've heard in a while. If you’re into reading scripts, you can also put the DVD in your computer and it will allow you to read along while watching the movie.

"How to Eat Fried Worms" was a surprisingly entertaining little family film, and despite the queasiness that some of you may experience while watching it, is every bit family friendly. We all enjoyed it quite a bit, but I could tell my wife was having an extra good time reliving her childhood experience of reading the book.

Directed by: Bob Dolman
Starring: Luke Benward, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Adam Hicks, Austin Rogers, Alexander Gould
Extras: Audio Commentary by Director Bob Dolman, and Cast Members Luke Benward, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Adam Hicks, and Austin Rogers, Deleted Scenes w/ Optional Commentary, "Movie Making Made Fun" Featurette, "Worm Cuisine" Featurette, Gag Reel, Worm Montage, "Worm Guts" Music Video by The Rockin' Worms, Theatrical Trailer
Specifications: Widescreen (2.35:1), Full Screen (1.33:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: New Line Cinema
Release Date: 12/5/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG
Website

We'll give How To Eat Fried Worms a B.