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The Most Genius Movie I've Ever Seen

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The Most Genius Movie I've Ever Seen

By one definition.

Rachel Baker
Oct 17, 2021
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Jodie Foster plays Fred Tate’s mom, Dede; Adam Hann-Byrd plays Dede Tate’s son, Fred.

Wait, am I hearing this correctly? You and/or your kids have never seen the 1991 Jodie Foster-directed, Jodie Foster-starring, Debi Mazar- and Dianne Wiest- and Harry Connick Jr.-costarring, child-prodigy drama Little Man Tate? It’s a shame, but also an opportunity! When I was a youth, I was obsessed with this movie—I’d probably seen it two dozen times by age 12—something I always chalked up to me being a little, let’s say, quirky in my interest in adult-y PG movies. (To reiterate, this is a drama featuring Dianne Wiest.) Turns out, the appeal of this movie is more universal than I realized. Our more all-American kids loved it and have inhaled it multiple times. The performances are incredible. Young Conick Jr. is a charisma machine. Adam Hann-Byrd

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is convincing as the titular Fred Tate. And did I mention DIANNE WIEST? The story is bracingly human—and legitimately interesting. It’ll give your brood a lot to talk about for days to come, and now it’s streaming for free with your Amazon Prime subscription.

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He’s also really good as young Alan Parrish in 1995’s Jumanji, and heartbreaking as Sandy Carver in The Ice Storm. Talented kid!

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A guest post by
Rachel Baker
Rachel is a writer and editor living in Charlottesville, Virginia. She's the cofounder of the Spread, a weekly newsletter that weighs in on the wide, wild world of women's media.
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