Film review

Also in theaters: Forget this 'Kid'

Last week The Perfect Score made heroes of high school students stealing answers to the SAT exam. This week we have Catch That Kid (PG), featuring even younger children appearing cool by robbing a bank. At least they have a better alibi than The Perfect Score crew's illegal shortcut to success.

Maddy (Kristen Stewart) wants to help her father who's paralyzed by a Mount Everest climbing accident. He needs an expensive operation to stay alive. Maddy persuades her playmates Gus (Max Thieriot) and Austin (Corbin Bleu) to knock over the bank where her mother (Jennifer Beals) works as a teller. This must be where actors go when that Flashdance feeling of celebrity wears off.

At least they apparently don't carry guns or take hostages. In previews, Catch That Kid looks like a cheap Spy Kids sequel (without the painful 3-D effects) or an even cheaper version of Mission: Impossible for the middle school set. It's based on a film from the Netherlands titled Klatretosen that reportedly was a hit in 2002, but how many tickets does anyone need to sell in that part of the world to be considered a hit?

Catch That Kid wasn't screened in time for Weekend review and I can't tell you how relieved I am.

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