Posts Tagged ‘Film & Books’


lasteaglescoutOne of Boy Scout Troop 68’s Eagle Scouts stopped by Sunday afternoon to watch a new movie I had recently received in the mail. Both of us had been waiting for “The Last Eagle Scout” to be released since we had read about it on Facebook a couple years ago. Here is the synopsis from the movie’s website:

In the not-so-distant future, society has allowed political correctness to go beyond the point of the absurd. For years the Boy Scouts have been under the government microscope and finally have been mandated to close their doors for good. Boy Scout, Cliff Elliot, stirs the pot as he tries to cling to the last shreds of patriotism and earn his Eagle Scout Award. In this ‘dramedy’, watch as Cliff jumps through ridiculous hoops, avoids the bumbling antics of government cronies, and tries to escape murderous plots against him, as he sets out to accomplish what he sees as the ultimate honor—becoming the Last Eagle Scout.

As we sat down with our pizza, popcorn, and soda Dakota and I understood that this was an independent made film, not a major studio financed super blockbuster. We had both seen the trailer which looked interesting and promising. We hoped that it would be a decent and fun film.

By the time the end credits rolled across the scene Dakota and I both agreed that we enjoyed the movie. The plot may have been simple but the film moved along at a nice pace and kept our interest. A few of the special effects may not have had the polish of a high budget Hollywood film but the acting was good and the action sequences were fun.

The movie is described as a dramedy in the description above, but I felt it played a bit more toward the drama side. There were a couple scenes that gave me a good chuckle though. Cliff, the hopeful Eagle Scout, decides to go against a government ban of flying the US flag on public property and in teenage fashion may not have though about the repercussions before doing the deed. The slow moving chase scene was another part I found humorous. I also enjoyed the homemade “iWatch” used by the Scouts in the movie.

One thing Dakota did not like was that for a lot of the movie Cliff was not wearing his uniform properly. It did not bother me because Cliff was on the run for nearly half the film. Keeping your shirt tucked in would be a low priority when you are running from government stooges.

Dakota and I both felt the “political correctness run amok” theme was a bit frightening. To tell the truth, we felt the tone set at the beginning of the film may not be that far in our future if this country continues on its current course. Can you imagine a United States of America government that decides to shut down the Boy Scouts of America?

Like I stated earlier, Dakota and I both enjoyed The Last Eagle Scout and give it a thumbs up. I consider it a solid addition to my Scouting-themed movie collection. Have you seen the movie? What did you think about it?

The trailer for the movie can be scene at:
http://lasteaglescout.com/ .

Earlier this year I heard about a new documentary about a Boy Scout troop from Harlem. The film followed four Boy Scouts from Troop 759 as they went to summer camp. The film centers on Keith, the newest Scout as he attends his first long week of camp out in the woods.

I looked forward to seeing this film coming out in theaters, but soon discovered that it was only being shown in special screening around the country. There were rumors that the film would be shown on PBS stations in 2010 so I though I may have to wait until then to see it, or buy the dvd which became available this fall.

I thought is was great that two films about Boy Scouting had been released on dvd this year. The first, Scout Camp: The Movie, had come out on dvd in June. This new film, 759: Boy Scouts of Harlem, came out later this summer. (I guess if you want to include Russell from UP, the new Pixar movie, you could say there were three movies about Scouting released in 2009.)
In September, Cubmaster Chris (of the An Hour A Week and The Leaders Campfire podcasts) and I received an email from our friend Scott at the InsaneScouter website. He wanted to know if we would like to interview one of the directors of 759: Boy Scouts of Harlem, Justin Szlasa, for an episode of The Leaders Campfire. Chris and I had interviewed Garret Batty, the director and writer of Scout Camp: The Movie earlier this summer, and the show had been quite popular. We thought it would be a great idea to interview Mr. Szlasa.
After several weeks of emailing back and forth we were about to set a date to record a show. Mr. Szlasa was a great person to interview. He and his brothers are Eagle Scouts so he knew a lot about the Scouting program. We talked about the special challenges of filming a documentary, the Boy Scouts of Troop 759, and the camp featured in the film. He even had a couple stories to share with us. Chris and I had fun interviewing him, and I think that comes through on the podcast.
The podcast episode ended up being #73 of the Leaders Campfire podcast. It can be found at PTC Media (click here). The podcast can be subscribed through PTC Media or through the iTunes music store (link here). The dvd of 759: Boy Scouts Of Harlem can be ordered through the website at http://www.harlemscouts.com/store.html . I suggest you get a copy. It is an enjoyable film.

follow_me_boys_largeI still remember the first time I saw the movie “Follow Me Boys.” I was attending the Philmont Scout Ranch Training Facility for a week long Scoutmaster Fundamentals course. It was in the summer of 1984.

As I sat there that night watching the film with Scout leaders from all over the country, I kept thinking to myself, “Wow! A scoutmaster for twenty years. That would be quite an accomplishment.” I was twenty-four years old at the time. I had not been a scoutmaster for three years yet. A twenty year stint seemed like an impossibility back then.

Well, it is now 2006. In September I will have been the scoutmaster of Troop 68 for 25 years, far surpassing Lem Siddons term of service.

Have any of my boys fallen off of a cliff? No. Have my boys tried building their own clubhouse? No. Has anyone offered to donate a valuable piece of property to my troop? No again. My troop is a real troop, not a Hollywood version of one.

However, Scouting has given me many memorable experiences. I have been hiking in the mountains of Virginia, canoeing in the BWCA of Minnesota, exploring caves and mines in Wisconsin and Minnesota, been the scoutmaster of a troop at the 2001 National Jamboree, and have attended five treks at Philmont Scout Ranch.

Best of all, I have had the opportunity to know nearly 250 young men through Scouting in Melrose. I have made many friendships, some even lasting long into their adulthood. Fifteen of the boys have attained the rank of Eagle Scout. And just like Lem Siddons, I consider all of them to be one of “my boys”.

No, my years of being a scoutmaster may not have been as interesting as Lem’s in the movie “Follow Me Boys”. Mine have been more interesting and more fun.