★★½ (2½ out of 4)
Calling a movie “educational” is usually the kiss of death at the box office, so “Young Washington” will have its hands full trying to coax audiences into theaters to watch an "Afterschool Special" about the guppy years of the first American president as he assumed command in the French and Indian War.
In the title role is 22-year-old William Franklyn-Miller, an actor, model, and social media star from London, England. He was scouted at age four and has modeled for brands like Hugo Boss, Saint Laurent, and Ralph Lauren. In 2017, he was named the world's most beautiful boy. His acting includes roles in “Arrow,” “Medici” and “Neighbors.” But the big question here is how does Franklyn-Miller fare in his biggest acting challenge to date?
My answer? Not bad, which is hardly a ringing endorsement. A rave is also not something “Young Washington” comes within shouting distance of deserving. It’s a decent “Afterschool Special” which deserves credit for sticking close to history without finding a satisfying way to enliven it. Both goals count.
'YW' sticks surprisingly close to history without finding a satisfying way to enliven it.
Young George, played by Will Joseph, feels stifled from an early age. After his chess-loving father (John Floss) dies with an aphorism on his lips (“Even a pawn can take a king.”), George is forced by his up-against-it mother Mary (Mary-Louise Parker, slumming) to quit dreaming of school and help her run the family tenant farm in Mount Vernon. What he does learn about education and ambition comes from his older half-brother Lawrence (John Foss), who instructs George in the social skills, just like Kathy Bates did for Adam Sandler in “The Waterboy.”
The Washington boy smartens up fast. Zooming past puberty, George (now played by Franklyn-Miller) flirts upward with Sally Cary (Mia Rodgers), the daughter of Lord Fairfax (Kelsey Grammer), the nobleman who replies affirmatively to George’s plea to help him build a team to survey his land in the Ohio valley. That way a watchful eye can be kept on French troops eager to annex territory that the British and the indigenous population have claimed for their own.
If you nodded off in 7th grade when the teacher laid out the ins and out of the French and Indian War, which started in 1755, this is the Cliff’s Notes movie for you. The plot thickens, some might say congeals, when Virginia governor Robert Dinwiddie (Sir Ben Kingsley very much in charge) commissions Washington for the state’s militia. Eager to fight for the Crown, George’s hubris trips him up at the Battle of Fort Necessity. Luckily, the subsequent dustup at the Battle of Fort Duquesne makes our young George a star.
So kudos to director and co-writer Jon Erwin (“Jesus Revolution”), the faith-based filmmaker who knows how to let it rip when a little ripping is necessary to rouse a dozing audience. Erwin never forgets his Christian demographic, though he goes lightly on sermonizing for the Evangelicals. On the other hand, it’s never in doubt that the Lord will watch over George on his rise from statesman to President. We just never seen it here.
Wil there be a sequel? Only God and the box office will tell. But young Franklyn-Miller and his cast of A-listers, a few knighted, make the prospect of a follow-up something less than devoutly to be wished but definitely not to dreaded. And that’s something.