Charlie St. Cloud [Blu-ray]

Director: Burr Steers, Donal Logue, Kim Basinger, Ray Liotta, Amanda Crew, Charlie Tahan, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Augustus Prew, Michael Fottrell, Marc E. Platt

Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/09/2010
UPC:	0025192050114
Original Release:	2010
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Universal Studios
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:40:00
Sales rank:	24,657

Special 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

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Zac Efron	Charlie St. Cloud
Charlie Tahan	Sam St. Cloud
Amanda Crew	Tess Carroll
Augustus Prew	Alistair Woolley
Donal Logue	Tink Weatherbee
Kim Basinger	Claire St. Cloud
Ray Liotta	Florio Ferrente
Dave Franco	Sully
Matt Ward	Connors
Miles Chalmers	Latham
Jesse Wheeler	Green
Desiree Zurowski	Carla Ferrente
Adrian Hough	Ben Carroll
Jill Teed	Grace Carroll
Valerie Tian	Girl in Toy Store
Grace Sherman	Girl in Toy Store
Brenna O'Brien	Girl in Toy Store
Tegan Moss	Cindy
Julia Maxwell	Rachel
Paul Chevreau	Hoddy Snow
Paul Duchart	Reverend Polk
Renu Bakshi	Reporter
Darren Dolynski	Ambulance Driver
Sophie Stukas	Mary Rogers
Marci T. House	Photographer
Ted Whittall	Principal
Natasha Denis	Julie
D. Neil Mark	EMT
Drama	Actor
Rolfe Kent	Conductor,Composer

Technical Credits

Lewis Colick

Craig Pearce

Ben Sherwood

Lewis Colick	Screenwriter
Craig Pearce	Screenwriter
Marc E. Platt	Producer,Producer
Michael Fottrell	Executive Producer,Producer
Ryan Kavanaugh	Executive Producer,Producer
Ben Sherwood	Executive Producer,Producer,Screenwriter
Jared LeBoff	Executive Producer,Producer
Adam Siegel	Executive Producer
Allison Jones	Casting
Coreen Mayrs	Casting
Heike Brandstatter	Casting
Marny Eng	Stunts
William Orr	Special Effects
Graham S. Hollins	Special Effects
Scott Gershin	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

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.