Growing Up Smith

Growing Up Smith
Official theatrical poster
Directed by	Frank Lotito
Produced by	Anjul Nigam Frank Lotito Steve Straka
Written by	Anjul Nigam, Paul Quinn, Gregory Scott Houghton
Starring	Jason Lee Anjul Nigam Brighton Sharbino Hilarie Burton Roni Akurati
Music by	Michael Lira
Cinematography	Thomas Scott Stanton
Edited by	Joshua Rathmell
Production company	Brittany House Pictures Emedia Films Quixotic Road
Distributed by	Good Deed Entertainment
Release date	June 1, 2015 (2015-06-01) (Seattle) February 3, 2017 (2017-02-03)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2 million

Growing Up Smith is a 2017 family film written by Anjul Nigam, Paul Quinn and Gregory Scott Houghton. It was produced by Anjul Nigam, Frank Lotito, and Steve Straka and directed by Frank Lotito. Prior to its theatrical release, the film was originally produced and exhibited in some festivals under the title "Good Ol' Boy".

The movie takes place in 1979, when an Indian family moves to America with hopes of living the American Dream. While their 10-year-old boy Smith falls head-over-heels for the girl next door, his desire to become a “good old boy” propels him further away from his family’s ideals than ever before.

The film premiered on June 1, 2015, at the Seattle International Film Festival, where it won the Best of the Fest Top Five. Growing Up Smith went on to win the Audience Awards at the Woodstock Film Festival, Naples International Film Festival, Prescott Film Festival; the Jury Prize at CAAMFest; and the Best Family Film at Garden State Film Festival. It was the Opening Night Film at the Cleveland International Film Festival and the SouthSide Film Festival. The movie had its theatrical release in select cities in the United States on February 3, 2017, and expanded wider on February 10, 2017. Produced for $2 million, it received mostly positive reviews including TIME Magazine's Pick of the Week.

Plot

Growing Up Smith is a coming-of-age story of Smith, a 10-year-old boy from India growing up in small-town America in 1979.

As the boy's family tries to straddle the fine line between embracing the American Dream and preserving their Indian heritage, the awkward little hero sneaks out for a taste of Kentucky Fried Chicken (even though his family is vegetarian), dons a Saturday Night Fever costume, and contends with his parents as they send him to school with a yellow squash instead of a pumpkin to carve for Halloween.

And as Smith falls head-over-heels in love with Amy, the girl-next-door, he finds in Amy's father Butch the all-American cowboy he wishes his own father could be. But alas, when Smith goes on a hunting adventure with Butch, Smith's father Bhaaskar fears Smith will lose any hope of remaining a respectable Indian boy and banishes him back to India. Nineteen years later Smith will return to America, back to a place he once called home.

Cast

• Jason Lee as Butch Brunner
• Anjul Nigam as Bhaaskar Bhatnagar
• Brighton Sharbino as Amy Brunner
• Hilarie Burton as Nancy Brunner
• Roni Akurati as Smith Bhatnagar
• Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini Bhatnagar
• Shoba Narayan as Asha Bhatnagar
• Jake Busey as Officer Dick
• Tim Guinee as Officer Bob
• Alison Wright as Mrs. Reynolds

Production

The movie was shot in Hudson Valley, New York, about 90 miles north of New York City.

Release

Growing Up Smith released on February 3, 2017 in USA theaters in exclusive partnership withAMC Theatres in select cities including New York, Chicago, Dallas, Santa Clara (CA) and Hamilton (NJ) on February 3, 2017, and then expanded on February 10, 2017 to nine additional cities. In March 2017, it launched a nationwide roll out.

Critical response

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References

External links

• Growing Up Smith Official Website
• Growing Up Smith on IMDb
• Growing Up Smith at AllMovie
• Growing Up Smith at Box Office Mojo
• Growing Up Smith at Metacritic
• Growing Up Smith at Rotten Tomatoes