The name Son of Rambow [1] conjures images of some hot young actor like Shia LaBeouf trekking through the mountains of Afghanistan, dodging Taliban attacks while searching for a captured Sylvester Stallone. Rest assured, this is not what you will get from this refreshingly creative twist on the coming-of-age genre.

Director Garth Jennings's [2] (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) semi-autobiographical story is sweet and funny with a heartwarming narrative about the forming of a true friendship. Jennings made his own versions of First Blood [3] as a child and coupled those experiences with some stories from producer Nick Goldsmith's [4] childhood to assemble the initial script.

Schoolmates Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) and Lee Carter (Will Poulter) are the unlikeliest of pairs. They meet by pure chance when Lee gets expelled from his classroom for disobedience and encounters Will, who is sitting in the hallway because his family's beliefs, as members of The Brethren evangelical christian movement, preclude him from watching television or even films shown at school. Lee proceeds to get Will in trouble, as well, and blackmails him into paying him a fee for taking the blame. Thus, their dysfunctional friendship begins.

Lee then guilts Will into coming over to his house, where he is exposed to his first movie ... a pirated copy of First Blood that Lee filmed at a local movie theater for his brother's bootlegging business. Hilarity ensues when Will gets swept up in the action and agrees to star in Lee's makeshift re-make of the film.

The filming of the movie begins with the two friends having a great time acting out scenes from First Blood with a reckless abandon that only two young and fearless boys could muster, making for some fun and amusing scenes. But things start to get complicated as fellow students begin to hear about the film and the making of the movie interferes with the boys' commitments to their families, and vice versa.

Lee is constantly on edge due to an undying loyalty to his self-centered and manipulative brother who, despite all his flaws, is closer to him than his absent parents. Will's family, on the other hand, wants to spend all their time together in prayerful solitude, but the lure of starring in a movies becomes too tempting. His mother is being courted by one of the elders of the group, who influences her to take a firmer grip on Will's activities.

The plot gets even more complicated as some of the boys' fellow students hear about the movie and want to participate ... notably the popular new French exchange student Didier. As their friends begin to get more and more involved, mostly at Will's request, and familial obligations present themselves, there becomes a rift in the two boys' relationship. While filming the final scene, an automobile accident threatens to end the film and the boys' relationship altogether.

The mixture of slapstick humor and heartwarming drama make Son of Rambow a unique fresh treat for moviegoers. The rich cast of characters, including the members of The Brethren, Didier and his entourage and Lee's self-centered older brother are a welcome homage to some of the great coming of age comedies of the 1980's like Better Off Dead and Weird Science. But there is a genuineness to Son of Rambow that leaves you laughing, but warm and fuzzy, at the same time ... something you wouldn't have gotten from a Son of Rambo movie.

Starts Friday at the Lagoon Theater [7].