Jay Martin is a 13-year-old who is competing for a scholarship with rival classmate and potential bully Ronny Van Dusen. The headmaster, Ronny's father Headmaster Ward Van Dusen confiscates Jay's presentation and leaves it lying around his office. Alone in his father's office, Ronny then copies the presentation, uses it in the contest, and wins the scholarship. When Jay brings this up with Ward, he plans to look into this only for Jay to overhear Ward praising his son. Jay breaks into Ronny's pool house when the Van Dusen family are away in order to take his presentation back and use it as evidence to show the judges. However, Eliza Van Dusen's show dog Camille discovers Jay and follows him home after Jay was nearly caught by a servant. Camille goes crazy and wrecks the Martin's home when she goes too long without her medication. After Jay spends hours trying to comfort the dog, Camille withstands no more and explodes. Jay's brother Mike comes home and finds the house a mess and Camille with a nervous breakdown. After Jay's confession about what happened, and the loss of the dog, the two try to buy time to get the dog back home. At one point during this time, Ward disavows any knowledge of Ronny's theft to Mike during a phone call. Then Ward is visited by his father-in-law Armand Columbus who advises him to get his daughter's dog back. Ward agrees to numerous ridiculous acts just to get Camille home and Armand off his back. Reaching his limit, Ward finally calls the police to tap into the calls he usually received from the two boys. Jay and Mike think up a plan and frame Ronny for the whole thing. The thing works thanks to a strategy where the Van Dusens and the police find Camille in Ronny's pool house. This causes Armand to say "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" to Ward. In the end, Armand becomes the new headmaster of the school while Ward becomes a secretary, Jay gets the scholarship after the competition is reopened, and Camille has puppies where Jay receives one of them. As for Ronny, is sent to the Military Academy where his instructor is none other than Mike much to his surprise.
Cast
Tahj Mowry as Jay Martin, a 13-year-old student attending Columbus Hall, a private middle school
Craig Kirkwood as Michael "Mike" Martin, Jay's older brother and a drill sergeant at Starkwell Military Academy
Shia LaBeouf as Ronald "Ronny" Van Dusen, Jay's rival classmate and a bully
Sara Paxton as Tracy Richburg, Jay's wheelchair-bound best friend
Steven Bendik as Bill Lipka, Jay's best friend
Rachelle Carson as Eliza Van Dusen, Ronny Van Dusen's mother
Ed Begley, Jr. as Ward Van Dusen, Ronny Van Dusen's father
Tony Larimer as Armand Columbus, Eliza Van Dusen's father
Melinda Haynes as Mrs. Martin, Jay and Mike's widowed mother.
Irene Santiago as Adele, the Van Dusens' maid.
Release
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 47% based on 538 reviews. It has only 2 comments and Conner R states that the film "Just an incredibly weird and campy movie about dog stealing. About the only noteworthy aspect is the fact that Shia Labeouf plays a hilariously evil rich kid."
