Mr. Rice's Secret

Starring:David Bowie, Bill Switzer, Teryl Rothery, Garwin Sanford, Zach Lipovsky, Jason Anderson (II), Tyler Thompson, Campbell Lane, Richard de Klerk, Tyler Labine, Eric Keenleyside, Colleen Rennison, Kyle Labine, Tim Dixon, Juno Ruddell, Frank C. Turner, Shayn Solberg, Shayne Zwickel, D. Neil Mark, Peter Bryant
Director: Nicholas Kendall
Studio: Mti Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Description

On a dare, twelve-year old, terminally ill Owen Walters sneaks into the mortuary and videotapes Mr. Rice's funeral. Later, Owen and his friends break into Mr. Rice's house to watch the tape. In the bedroom, they discover a sealed envelope addressed to Owen - a letter from Mr. Rice, written in his secret code. Owen soon discovers that Mr. Rice has left him a medieval code ring, a treasure map and a series of clues. Clues that will lead him on a surreal treasure hunt and one steop closer to his destiny - which may save his life.

Customer Reviews:

Christian Propaganda.......2007-04-20

** SPOILER ALERT **

This movie reminds me of an old joke. A guy tells his friend, "My dog just wrote a mystery novel."

"What? How does a dog write a mystery novel?"

"He starts with the ending and works backwards."

That seems to be how all "Christian message" movies are written. First, write a list of all the "good" Jesus stuff: sacrifice, life after death, etc. Leave out the "bad" Jesus stuff: pick the wrong god and go to hell.

Next, outline some of the tritest character types ever used in family stories: the Standard Adolescent Male; the threatening dad who never quite beats his child on-screen; the brainless "what he said" eye candy mom; the chicken friend; the bully friend alpha male trouble maker; the worse bully; the dog.

David Bowie is the dog. He's also a middle aged neighbor who rakes leaves a lot. He's also Jesus. The kid, Owen, goes to this guy for comforts which are never clearly specified. It must be something good, because the big bribe is a magic decoder ring. Clunky flashbacks show that Owen was bald, therefore very sick. Mr. Rice assures him, "You are very special, Owen." Instead of running away, Owen watches Rice install a cool birdhouse. (If you want to know what metaphor the cool birdhouse represents, you will have to have to attend an "Understanding `Mr. Rice's Secret'" seminar in a church somewhere.)

Owen gets better. There are vague suggestions that a hospital is involved.

Rice dies, for no apparent reason. Owen, the teenager, is compelled to sneak into the funeral and videotape it, for no apparent reason. His bully friend forces the gang to break into Rice's house, for no apparent reason. Owen finds a Very Special Book of clues written by Mr. Rice. It addresses Owen directly! Oh, joy! Mr. Rice speaks to Owen from beyond the grave!

The Very Special Book starts Owen on a Harry Potter-esque, dark-of-night treasure hunt which involves the decoder ring and grave robbing. That's right, grave robbing. (The working title was "Exhuming Mr. Rice" - I kid you not - which they were too lazy to erase from the end titles.) In the casket, with the dead guy Rice, Owen finds a key. An actual key, a slap-you-in-the-back-of-the-head, undisguised metaphor. The key opens the birdhouse. (Be sure and tell me all about that seminar). Ooh, goody, more of those creepy "Hi, Owen" notes read by flashlight. One more treasure map and, ta-daah! Owen unearths a Very Special box containing a big test tube full of green glowing liquid. Several empty tubes and another beyond-the-grave note explain that Rice has used this Elixir of Life to live for centuries. But - oh, bless his heart - Rice bequeaths the last magic test tube to Owen.

And then - oh, bless his heart - Owen sneaks into a hospital and pours it down the gullet of an estranged leukemia friend who is much sicker. The kid is UNCONCIOUS. There is no consent form, no adult supervision. Just a lot of Bravery Moment music.

Now Owen is ecstatic, climbing to the precarious peak of his second story roof and screaming, "Now I have a life worth losing!" His parents are only mildly alarmed by this, since the boy's new philosophy is so compelling.

This is the kind of GET IT? story telling that only makes sense if you are already familiar with Christian dogma. Otherwise you might assume the filmmakers were part of some creepy death cult. Well, guess what? They are part of some creepy death cult: Christianity. These are the standard, gruesome themes of life-via-death and a dependence on someone else's blood sacrifice. I have no use whatsoever for this morbid view of life. These "Christian Values" are simply repugnant to me.

Any kid who is force-fed this tripe, as an appetizer to a seven course bible meal, needs to notice one important element of this story, one which is neatly hidden from view. Owen's life has already been saved: by science. He had leukemia, received the best treatments that medical research could offer, and got better. He wasn't saved by a magic potion or a magic theology.

But in the minds of the hacks who produce such propaganda, science doesn't matter much. They show just enough of the hospital to assure you that it is trivial compared to the death cult stuff. Medical science is all about extending life, and that's not nearly as much fun as glamorizing death.

Telling children that death equals life - in a bible or in a movie - is just plain sick.

DVD.......2007-04-11

The DVD arrived quickly and in great condition . The only drawback was the shipping price .

great find.......2006-10-28

I discovered this movie accidentally on a lazy summer Sunday afternoon, flipping channels on the TV. I enjoyed it, but the 11-14 year olds that I showed it to related to it even more. The film explores issues of disease and death, responsiblity, bullying, friendship, and finding meaning in life. David Bowie plays Mr. Rice, who dies at the very beginning of the film. However, he is anything but dead because of the legacy he passes down to Owen, a boy struggling through early adolescence and cancer therapy. Owen is haunted by the reality of his own probable death, as he faces his peers, and goes on a quest to solve a riddle left to him by Mr. Rice.

Finding your way home.......2005-09-18

Actually, I am a David Bowie fan . . . too . . . like many others reviewing this movie. However, I would like to add that to really be a fan of Bowie's, after all these years, one must be a chameleon, like him. This, maybe, is his greatest testament in life: that he can change and take on new concepts, and, if nothing else, to achieve personal pleasure and growth as a consequence. He has re-invented himself more than Madonna has herself. But, the growth patterns of each necessarily benefits their true fans who can keep up with the changes.

True, he is not in many scenes (although he is perceived in all scenes); yet it seems he must feel very passionately about the moral lessons to be learned in this film, or he would not have joined the cast. (Of course, in reality, he could have been hard up for money.) But I like to believe that he feels that giving the one thing you need most in life to "a friend" who needs it more is the definition of his life's work, and this is really why he committed to the project. Children and adults can benefit from the childlike approach to telling this story. It's overly sentimental, but life is that way sometimes . . . when you allow yourself to feel.

I enjoyed this film. It feels low budget, but most Bowie films feel that way as they try to convey some idea way more than images. In concert, Bowie adds great dramatic imagery on stage with sets and costumes. In films, he uses ordinary life themes (or what may be ordinary to some) as background, and often portrays ordinary or nearly ordinary people. For example, he has acted in gritty urban settings, small Southern towns, and typical battlefields. Once he even portrayed Pontius Pilate in Israel in a straightforward manner.

I am still a Bowie fan, probably will always be. And I enjoy him in his usually, consistently, cheesy roles. David and Imam recently "starred" in an Hilfiger fashion campaign, which is personified middle class. I thought they were both so miscast. They are more Haute Couture than ready-to-wear. Never could understand what it was supposed to mean. The clothes are not Bowie style. Good clothes, but just not Bowie style. Maybe the goal was to reach a more mainstream market. This serves to further define our chameleon who keeps us guessing. Nevertheless, I think this film is Bowie Style. It is mystical, soul-searching, intense, thought provoking, relative in a weird sort of way, and entertaining.

Overall, bravo to the boys (or girls) who learn to stand up for themselves and do the right thing.

Warm.......2003-06-30

I found this film engaging and uplifting. One of those films that makes you think about the essential things in life in a healthy and inspiring way.

Average customer rating:

Christian Propaganda
DVD
great find
Finding your way home
Warm

Mr. Rice's Secret [Region 2]
Starring: David Bowie , Bill Switzer , Teryl Rothery , Garwin Sanford , and Zach Lipovsky
Director: Nicholas Kendall
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Family Films | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00005MFK2