The Terrible Adventure Image

The Terrible Adventure

By Brian Shaer | November 22, 2020

It would be easy to dismiss The Terrible Adventure as, well, terrible. The acting is atrocious, the story is stupid, and despite being only about an hour and a half, the movie feels about twice its length. Yet, when it’s shortcomings are aggregated and seen as a whole, the movie achieves a strange sort of brilliance. The performances might be aggressively amateur and the acting style stupefyingly exaggerated (on a scale of one to ten on the heightened performance meter, all of the actors shoot for a thirty), but they’re consistent across the board. Obviously, writer-director Kel Thompson knew exactly what he wanted out of his cast.

The story itself is kindergarten-level entertainment, but appropriate if viewed through the lens of a five-year-old. Solving a riddle written on the inside of an ice cream wrapper leads siblings Olivia (Olivia Thompson) and Jackson (Jackson Thompson) on an intrastate scavenger hunt all over sunshiny Florida. The puzzle was concocted by a Willy Wonka-esque tycoon named Billy Bob Branson (Ron Beau), who promised a $1 million prize to whoever collects all of the clues and ultimately solves a series of vaguely environment-conscious riddles, which he spouts forth via a locked YouTube page.

Solving a riddle written on the inside of an ice cream wrapper leads siblings…on an intrastate scavenger hunt…”

Hot on the trail of Olivia and Jackson is a pair of ice cream men (Santo Curatolo and Ciro Dobric), who are after the booty for themselves. It’s best to just get over the inherent creepiness of ice cream men stalking a pair of kids. Curatolo and Dobric make the criminals played by Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci in Home Alone seem like lessons in nuanced subtlety by comparison.

Also trailing Olivia and Jackson is their father, Brad (Brett Engle), a kindly loser who can’t seem to keep track of his kids’ whereabouts. His estranged wife (the kid’s mother), Janet (Jillian Chiappones), is your standard-issue obnoxious bitch who has her ex-husband programmed into her phone as ‘The Schmuck.’

The Terrible Adventure (2020)

Directed and Written: Kel Thompson

Starring: Olivia Thompson, Jackson Thompson, Ron Beau, Santo Curatolo, Ciro Dobric, Brett Engle, Jillian Chiappones, Kyle Barnette, etc.

Movie score: 7/10

The Terrible Adventure Image

"…you can't even ascribe the label of 'unintentional camp'..."

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  1. Santo Curatolo says:

    Looking for a FABULOUS FUN FILLED FAMILY ADVENTURE MOVIE THE TERRIBLE ADVENTURE MOVIE IS AN EVENING WHERE THE ENTIRE FAMILY TAKES PART TO SAVE THEIR HOME AND THE BROTHER AND SISTER WORK AS TEAM. I had the pleasure to be part of this adventure and family. KEL Thompson father of Jackson and Olivia director was a experience to watch his love of the children and direct this film. Please watch for the WORLD WIDE RELEASE .

  2. Angela Anastasio says:

    Every kid has a movie that inspires and challenges their minds, no matter how silly it may seem. This comedy does exactly that…. it shows kids that they can be their own creators and make a difference in this world! The off the wall and over the top antics is what makes this movie a gem for all kids of this generation! Very inspiring and funny with an underlying message of having determination and focus in order to achieve a goal!

  3. Kyle Barnette says:

    This movie held my interest from the very start. I loved the story ! The over the top characters, comedy, and awesome panoramic scenes and cinematography make this movie a very fun adventure to watch. I laughed a lot !

  4. Ciro Dobric says:

    What an amazing experience to work with a visionary like Kel Thompson. His children are the next leaders of the world. What a great cast and crew and a really fun fun adventure.

  5. Casey Eden Sollock says:

    We need more kids’ movies like this…a fun adventure with deeper meaning! It shows just how smart and resourceful kids are, and yes, as the catchy song in the movie says…kids WILL save the world. This is good, clean fun that holds the interest of its target audience, and all kids will love going on this terrible adventure with Jackson and Olivia. And, they will walk away feeling like they can do anything!

  6. Maria Zuniga says:

    Fun adventure for the kids. Definitely preschool & primary school kids would love this movie. Really enjoyed the over the top characters. Kids can throw themselves into the movie like it’s their adventure too. My kids and I really enjoyed it.

  7. Kel Thompson says:

    This is such a fun and well written review! Thank you for taking the time to watch the film and publish this! We’re thrilled to have received awards from, Dances With Films, and Awareness film festivals out of LA and from several others from around the country!

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