Cami wanted me to make it clear to you that in no way, shape or form does she advocate the viewing of any film featuring Haley Joel Osmet in his current state. That state, of course, being a freaky adolescent.

Cami actually had the same reaction I did when we first saw the trailer for Secondhand Lions. Recoiling in our seats, a twisted sneer across our faces we both said “Ugh!”

Watching a child star work his or her way through puberty is always a really uncomfortable metamorphose to witness. I think the transformation is particularly cruel for young male actors because for so long they have been marketed as cute and are now trying to grow beyond it literally and figuratively.

I thought Haley Joel Osment had figured out a really smart way around it by doing a bunch of voice over work in animated fare like The Jungle Book 2 and video games like Kingdom Hearts. He must have felt comfortable enough to return to the screen in Secondhand Lions seeing as it’s his first live-action film since A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.

My reaction? Put him back in the oven! He’s not done yet!