Twelve-year olds Joe, Tiger and Chris break out of summer baseball camp to secretly trail Joe’s parents, who have lied to Joe about a mysterious trip they’re taking. The boys must piece together clues, avoid their parents, dodge the police, trust a stranger – and not destroy their friendships in the process – during an adventurous road trip in their last summer before junior high. In the spirit of Stand By Me, Rounding First is a coming-of-age tale set in the summer of 1980.
Acting
Kid trio with actual chemistry, not precocious garbage
Production
1980 period detail on what looks like $12
Writing
Kids who sound like kids, not tiny screenwriters
Director
Jim Fleigner
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Jim Fleigner never made another feature; this was his one passionate swing at the coming-of-age genre.
Released in 2005 but set in 1980, it rode the wave of Stranger Things-before-Stranger Things nostalgia for unsupervised childhoods.
US
