The Battle of Shaker Heights

"When you're 17, every day is war."

2003 1h 19m EN

😐

5.7

MID

🥫

39%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★5.7TMDB · 61🥫39%Rotten Tomatoes●33Metacritic★6IMDB · 4,631

ComedyDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A quirky teen with a penchant for war reenactments, Kelly Ernswiler obsesses over military tactics with his buddy Bart. The school bully is one of Kelly's regular headaches, and he also has to deal with a frustrating situation at home, where his father is a recovering drug addict. Kelly's life gets even more complicated when he falls for Tabby, Bart's pretty and soon-to-be-wed older sister.

“When you're 17, every day is war.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Shia LaBeouf
Kelly Ernswiler
Elden Henson
Bart Bowland
Amy Smart
Tabby
Billy Kay
Lance
Kathleen Quinlan
Eve
Shiri Appleby
Sarah
William Sadler
Abe
Ray Wise
Harrison

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kyle Rankin
Writers: Erica Beeney
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kyle Rankin, shot by Thomas E. Ackerman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Richard Marvin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Nord shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Shia LaBeouf and Elden Henson and Amy Smart carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "When you're 17, every day is war.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kyle Rankin directs. Thomas E. Ackerman behind the camera. Richard Marvin scores. Richard Nord cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Released 23 years ago.
4Directed by Kyle Rankin, shot by Thomas E. Ackerman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Richard Marvin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Richard Nord shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Shia LaBeouf and Elden Henson and Amy Smart carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "When you're 17, every day is war.".
9IMDB entry: tt0357470 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 61 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.