The gentle but unappealing goody-two-shoes mold of Sandy Tung’s Saving Shiloh is made of innocuous Southern comfort.
The gentle but unappealing goody-two-shoes mold of Sandy Tung’s Saving Shiloh is made of innocuous Southern comfort, into which a corny mixture of cotton-mouthed Hardy Boys mystery, Disney Channel dialogue, and Hallmark music is poured in. A dead body figures prominently, but the film couldn’t hurt a fly—after all, the kids here attend a bully-less school called Friendly Elementary. If Sandy Tung’s film had flavor, it might taste like a week-old bagel. Which is better, I suppose, than smacking of dead squirrel, which is what mean ‘ol Judd Travers (Scott Wilson) from down the lane brings to the Preston home, to the absolute (and understandable) horror of cunty little Dara Lynn (Kyle Chavarria), trying to make amends for reasons that are likely explained in two prequels I never heard of (also adapted from books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor). The film’s road to redemption is paved with good intentions, but the lame-o finale telegraphs itself before you even enter the theater. Hint: someone saves Shiloh, a cute little bugger whose miniscule screen time is the film’s biggest travesty.