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There’s plenty of Oscar timber in this tearjerker. Robert Duvall and Michael Caine play batty brothers who after a 40-year absence turn up on a run-down Texas ranch with a small fortune. Salesmen swing by and money-hungry relatives try to ingratiate themselves, but the cantankerous coots rebuff all comers with the crack of a shotgun. The most resourceful relative is niece Mae (Kyra Sedgwick), who dumps her adolescent son on the two, instructing him to "find out where the money is hidden." Haley Joel Osment, whose 15 minutes may be drawing to a close, plays the 14-year-old who’s been bounced between orphanages and half-truths. You know how this one plays out: the old codgers open up to the troubled youth and regale him with tales of their past glory. Director Tim McCanlies struggles with the contemporary (circa 1960) melodrama, but in flashbacks he achieves a campiness worthy of The Princess Bride. (107 minutes)
BY TOM MEEK
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