Let's just start by agreeing that Schuyler Fisk doesn't look like a boy. A wig and baggy clothes don't cut it. It doesn't ruin the viewing experience, but you do have to have some willing suspension of belief since a major plot point revolves around everybody automatically assuming Joe is a boy right from the get-go.
Chris is a young boy who is bullied by his friend/rival Boyler (Boyler's mean to him yet Chris still hangs out with him). The circus is in town. One day He meets a new kid named Joe who dazzles Chris and his friends with "his" bicycling skills. They soon strike up a close friendship. Joe of course has at least two secrets, 1) "His" caretaker/uncle physically abuses "him" and 2) Joe doesn't exactly have a lot of testosterone.
Fisk is so great as Joe in this movie as a lonely kid who really just wants a best friend and craves a normal life as opposed to performing in the circus. She also captures the fear, anger, and ambivalence of an abuse victim. I also liked how Fisk portrays Joe as clearly being attracted to Chris and struggling to keep her secret yet wanting to tell Chris. I loved her in this movie. Of course, I loved her in BABYSITTERS CLUB and SNOW DAY (2000) too.
I will say the big reveal comes pretty late in the movie at which point I was really surprised Chris didn't figure it out especially when it comes obvious that Joe has a crush on Chris. I am glad it didn't involve Joe showing Chris his/her body parts. Joe actually just takes her wig off, lets her hair down, and tells him her name is Joanne.
The ending is really sweet even if things do get wrapped up a little too neatly and a little too quickly.
Chris is a young boy who is bullied by his friend/rival Boyler (Boyler's mean to him yet Chris still hangs out with him). The circus is in town. One day He meets a new kid named Joe who dazzles Chris and his friends with "his" bicycling skills. They soon strike up a close friendship. Joe of course has at least two secrets, 1) "His" caretaker/uncle physically abuses "him" and 2) Joe doesn't exactly have a lot of testosterone.
Fisk is so great as Joe in this movie as a lonely kid who really just wants a best friend and craves a normal life as opposed to performing in the circus. She also captures the fear, anger, and ambivalence of an abuse victim. I also liked how Fisk portrays Joe as clearly being attracted to Chris and struggling to keep her secret yet wanting to tell Chris. I loved her in this movie. Of course, I loved her in BABYSITTERS CLUB and SNOW DAY (2000) too.
I will say the big reveal comes pretty late in the movie at which point I was really surprised Chris didn't figure it out especially when it comes obvious that Joe has a crush on Chris. I am glad it didn't involve Joe showing Chris his/her body parts. Joe actually just takes her wig off, lets her hair down, and tells him her name is Joanne.
The ending is really sweet even if things do get wrapped up a little too neatly and a little too quickly.