Sweet, Uplifting Fare in Adaptation of ‘Little Men’

Here’s the kind of movie they don’t make anymore, because when they do, people don’t go. At the same time, “Louisa May Alcott’s Little Men” fills that frequently empty family-entertainment niche where movies for the whole brood are supposed to reside. For all its merits, the film won’t attract any kids I know personally, but if yours are young enough it should be OK. The smaller they are, the less fight they put up.

“Louisa May Alcott’s Little Men” shouldn’t be considered in any way a cinematic sequel to Gillian Armstrong’s 1994 “Little Women,” a splendid film that did everything right. “Little Men,” directed by Rodney Gibbons, is operating on a different level entirely, where the people are so nice they might have come from pods and where production values are so simple they might have come from television. Still, the lessons--honesty, friendship, family--are worthy ones, even if Alcott’s book is the type that’s romanticized both the institutionalizing of children and the institutions.

The one here is Plumfield, the house and grounds inherited by Jo (Mariel Hemingway), the key sister from the first book, who with her husband, Prof. Fritz Bhaer (the not-so-frequently-seen Chris Sarandon, who starred with Hemingway long ago in “Lipstick”), runs a boarding school for boys. The daily routine is disrupted by the arrival of Nat (Michael Caloz), a street urchin from Boston, whose street ethics clash with those of the school (“All we ask is honesty and a willingness to learn”). Nat adapts, but the arrival of his partner in crime, Artful Dodger impersonator Dan (Ben Cook) creates more discord of the moral and academic varieties.

No, Dan and Nat don’t turn into Perry Smith and Dick Hickock and slaughter all the inhabitants. There are crises, but all are resolved with uplifting results. The kids learn much and Prof. Bhaer learns not to jump to conclusions. “Little Men” may lumber, but it does so with its head held high.

* MPAA rating: PG for mild thematic elements and brief language. Times guidelines: best for younger viewers.

‘Louisa May Alcott’s Little Men’

Michael Caloz: Nat Blake

Mariel Hemingway: Jo Bhaer

Ben Cook: Dan Ricky

Chris Sarandon: Fritz Bhaer

Brainstorm Media in association with Image Organization presents an Allegro Films Production. Directed by Rodney Ribbons. Produced by Pierre David; Franco Battista. Executive producers Meyer Shwarzstein, Tom Berry. Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott. Screenplay by Mark Even Schwartz. Co-executive producer Josee Bernard. Edited by Andre Corriveau. Music by Milan Kymicka. Production design by Donna Noonan. Director of photography Georges Archambault. Running time: 1 hour, 38 minutes.

* In general release throughout Southern California.