Charlie St. Cloud

Theatrical Release Date: 2010 07 30 (USA)

UPC: 025192050114

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Mild Violence, Adult Language, Sexual Situations]

Summary: A young man forms a unique connection to the afterlife after surviving the tragic car accident that claimed his younger brother in this supernatural drama starring Zac Efron, based on the best-selling book by author Ben Sherwood. Charlie St. Cloud (Efron) is an experienced sailor from the Pacific Northwest who has just earned a scholarship that will take him far from home. The light of his mother's life, Charlie and his little brother, Sam (Charlie Tahan), are driving late at night when they're involved in a deadly car accident that kills Sam and leaves Charlie forever changed. In the aftermath of the accident, Charlie is wracked with guilt, convinced that if he had just been more careful behind the wheel, Sam would still be alive today. When Charlie begins seeing visions of his younger brother that are just as real as if Sam is actually standing before him, his friends and neighbors all start to think he's losing his mind. Shortly thereafter, Charlie's former high-school classmate Tess (Amanda Crew) returns to town unannounced, and together the two old acquaintances forge the foundation of a meaningful romance. But before Charlie can move on with his life he'll have to first let go of his past, and bid his beloved brother Sam one final, heartfelt farewell. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Drama

Features: Deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Burr Steers
On location with Zac Efron
Zac Efron, leading man
Feature commentary with director Burr Steers

Charlie St. Cloud

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 11/09/2010

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DHMA null, DTS-ESM Digital Theater Pseudo 6.1 System, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: French,Spanish

Tracie Cooper

Ace sailor and all-around great human being Charlie St. Cloud (Zac Efron) is perfect at life. He's a shoe-in to win any and all interschool sailing competitions, and he takes the not-so-good-natured ribbing of his envious competitors with grace and charm. He is willing to defer his enrollment at Stanford (Charlie St. Cloud is very smart) and find a part-time job in order to take some of the financial pressure off his beleaguered mother (an underused Kim Basinger). Most of all, Charlie St. Cloud is a great big brother, and he swears to help 11-year-old Sam St. Cloud (Charlie Tahan) hone his baseball skills every day at sunset, "rain or shine, come hell or high water." Somewhere, somehow, Nicholas Sparks is asking Charlie St. Cloud to tone it down. While "lucky" may not be the proper term, it is, from a film perspective; at least in terms of his career, Efron is fortunate that Sam dies in a car accident, because an emotionally devastated Charlie St. Cloud is a lot more interesting than his flawless former self. In a supernatural twist, having temporarily flat-lined in the accident, Charlie has been given the dubious gift of being able to see, touch, and converse with earthbound souls, the most notable being his brother. Five years after the tragedy, Charlie -- whose reputation has diminished from golden boy to the local loon who gave up a stellar career to work as a caretaker at the cemetery -- has kept his promise to Sam, leaving them both unable to stray from their home for fear that it would break the bond between them. For Charlie, who feels responsible for the accident, abandoning these sessions would be the ultimate breach in loyalty. While the gimmicky feel never subsides -- and despite the fact that the film is every inch an epic, three-hankie tearjerker for young girls -- it's impossible not to notice that Zac Efron brings a levity and palpable sorrow to a character that, in less skilled hands, might have been too sappy to root for. When the paramedic responsible for bringing Charlie back from the brink of death (Ray Liotta) encourages him to fall in love and take full advantage of his second chance at life, one can't help but agree with him. Tess Carroll (Amanda Crew), an equally passionate sailor who has continued to compete and excel in her sport of choice, takes an interest in Charlie after realizing the extent of his respect for the dead while visiting her father's grave. (Incidentally, there is a recurring comedic subplot involving Charlie and a cemetery-defacing gaggle of geese that is more than a little reminiscent of Bill Murray's rivalry with a golf-course gopher in Caddyshack -- and that's not a bad thing.) Crew and Efron have an undeniable chemistry, and between them bring a surprising maturity to the film. Unfortunately, the final scene deviates from what would have been a solid ending to deliver a ham-fisted posthumous message of love, faith, healing, and the importance of letting go that had already been imparted quite concisely, without the weight of a thousand anvils to drive it home. Still, Charlie St. Cloud is a perfectly passable, if more than slightly saccharine, romance for a lazy summer afternoon. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Craig Pearce  Screenwriter 
Burr Steers  Director 
Lewis Colick  Screenwriter 
Rolfe Kent  Composer (Music Score) 
Marc E. Platt  Producer 
Michael Fottrell  Executive Producer 
Ryan Kavanaugh  Executive Producer 
Adam Siegel  Executive Producer 
Jared LeBoff  Executive Producer 
Ben Sherwood  Executive Producer 
Zac Efron  Actor 
Charlie Tahan  Actor 
Amanda Crew  Actor 
Augustus Prew  Actor 
Donal Logue  Actor 
Kim Basinger  Actor 
Ray Liotta  Actor 
Dave Franco  Actor 
Matt Ward  Actor 
Miles Chalmers  Actor 
Jesse Wheeler  Actor 
Desiree Zurowski  Actor 
Adrian Hough  Actor 
Jill Teed  Actor 
Valerie Tian  Actor 
Grace Sherman  Actor 
Brenna O'Brien  Actor 
Tegan Moss  Actor 
Julia Maxwell  Actor 
Paul Chevreau  Actor 
Paul Duchart  Actor 
Renu Bakshi  Actor 
Darren Dolynski  Actor 
Sophie Stukas  Actor 
Marci T. House  Actor 
Ted Whittall  Actor 
Natasha Denis  Actor 
D. Neil Mark  Actor 

Country: USA