Parodies of the Hollywood film industry have been worn thin by repetition, and the idea of watching prima donnas indulging in movie-set melodramas might seem a trying experience, especially when the prima donna in question is a spoilt-brat, 12-year-old movie star. However, writer-director-star Don McKellar's feelgood comedy manages to negotiate most of the pitfalls of the genre by blending a smart script with fine performances.

Hollywood moguls desperate to wring the last cent out of their hottest star Taylor Brandon Burns (Mark Rendall), before his voice breaks, send him to Canada to shoot an action thriller that sounds like Home Alone meets Air Force One.

Rick (McKellar), a struggling indie filmmaker, who is hired to chauffeur the pre-pubescent star and his listless, hard-nosed mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh), quickly finds that he's got himself into a lot more than he bargained for. Taylor is permitted to act the little Napoleon on and off set, getting through a succession of tutors and creating a waking nightmare for his producers. Rick is blind enough to the politics to be drawn closer to the boy and his mother. He also has an ability to negotiate the boy's manipulations and tantrums, which lands him with greater responsibility over the star, so that when Taylor disappears from the set, it is Rick that leads the search for him.

Although some scenes making fun of the movie industry machine have a same-old feel, the focus on the peculiar way that the Hollywood celebrity system treats children like mini VIP adults gives the satire and showbiz jokes a freshness and bite. McKellar, Rendall and Leigh also provide a strong emotional axis around which events take place, with great rapport between them throughout.