Movie Review: Pauli Go!

IN A NUTSHELL: A young AI prodigy gets rejected from a world-renowned robotics lab and does what any rational teenager would do - steal a van and drive across the country to Northern Minnesota to track down the Professor who rejected him. The film is directed and co-written by Andrew Nackman. This is only his second feature film. The movie was based on a character he developed for the 2012 short film named "Paulie".

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B

THINGS I LIKED: Ethan Dizon is the young star in the movie. You might have seen him in Sony/Marvel's Spiderman: Homecoming or Avengers: Infinity War. He does a great job.

Madison Wolfe is the co-star of the movie and she also does a good job. You might have seen her in the Will Ferrell/Zach Galifianakis comedy The Campaign. Her character has a YouTube channel where she teaches people how to fish. As a Youtuber, myself, I'm also interested in seeing how they're represented in movies.

The film was made in Nevis and Park Rapids, Minnesota. We get to see some of the 10,000 lakes in the beautiful state. What a beautiful part of the country.

There are some cute one-liners and other humorous moments.

At about the halfway mark, the plot takes a surprising and insightful turn. NO SPOILERS!

Filmed with a small budget, the movie has charm.

The movie has enough satisfying resolution, even though not all of the storylines are finished at the end of the movie.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: There are some bad acting moments. The two leads are young, so they have a lot of experience and learning to do, but they're off to a good start and show great promise.

Some of the camera angles aren't as good as they could be, sacrificing background for close-ups.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Some profanity (spoken and written in subtitles) You see a buxom girl in a bathing suit.

A teen drinks alcohol Talk of teenage pregnancy

THEMES: Friendship Human connection and relationships Robotics Artificial intelligence Rejection & acceptance Education Take a chance Follow your heart Nature Bullies Fear Facing your problems Love and loss

YouTube channel.

Paulie Go is such a sweet and refreshing coming of age film. The co-stars do such a great job of showcasing teen social awkwardness, self awareness, and quirky yet sincere friendship. The plot will have you hooked and I truly didn't see the end coming! Not to mention the beautiful drone footage of Minnesota. Highly recommend. I enjoyed every moment.

We were looking for a movie night break from cable news & Paulie Go! Hit the mark. Great coming of age journey story about finding your place in the world, achieving goals, and the importance of connecting to others. The tweens particularly loved it. But well balanced - we adults laughed, too. I love discovering these indy gems.