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Roy Eberhardt (Logan Lerman) is used to being the new kid in school—because his dad’s job keeps moving his family around. Roy had just settled into his new school in Montana when his parents decided it was time to move on again—this time to Florida. So, once again, Roy is the new kid—and he’s got to try to make new friends while trying to avoid the school bully, who seems determined to make Roy’s life miserable.
On the bus to school one day, Roy notices a mysterious kid running barefoot beside the bus. When he decides to follow the strange shoeless kid, Roy finds himself caught up in a battle to protect a bunch of endangered owls from having their homes destroyed by a construction crew that’s in town to build the latest in a popular chain of pancake restaurants.
If you’ve read anything by Carl Hiaasen, you’ll pretty much know what to expect from Hoot—except that Hoot, written with a younger audience in mind, is a toned-down version of the usual. As you might expect, the story revolves around the destruction of Florida’s nature, as developers and businessmen and tourists fight for their piece of paradise. There’s also a rough, mysterious character who’s determined to stop them, no matter what it takes. In Hiaasen’s adult novels, it’s the former-environmentalist-governor-gone-mad, who calls himself Skink. This time, it’s the shoeless kid who lives in an abandoned boat and who’s known only as Mullet Fingers (played by Cody Linley). Both will do whatever it takes to save Florida’s environment—even if it means becoming a bit of an outlaw.
Hoot also has the same quirky humor you’d expect from Hiaasen—the best of which comes from Luke Wilson. Wilson’s subtle, awkward humor is perfect for the role of the well-meaning yet bumbling Officer David Delinko. The poor guy tries so hard, but he can’t seem to do anything right—except, of course, for making viewers laugh.
Add to that a tropical soundtrack (and a cameo) by Jimmy Buffett, and you’ve got a fun family movie that’s a special treat for Carl Hiaasen fans—young and old alike. Be warned, though, that you might have to have a chat with your kids after watching it, to explain to them that there might be better ways to go about changing the world—ways that don’t get you in trouble with the law.
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