How to Eat Fried Worms (film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids How to Eat Fried Worms
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bob Dolman
Produced by	Mark Johnson Philip Steuer
Screenplay by	Bob Dolman
Starring	Luke Benward Adam Hicks James Rebhorn Kimberly Williams-Paisley Tom Cavanagh
Music by	Mark Mothersbaugh Bob Mothersbaugh
Cinematography	Richard Rutkowski
Editing by	Janice Hampton Frederick Wardell
Studio	Walden Media
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date(s)	August 25, 2006 (2006-08-25)
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Money made	$13.1 million

How to Eat Fried Worms is a 2006 American family comedy film written and directed by Bob Dolman and produced by Mark Johnson and Philip Steuer with music by Mark Mothersbaugh and Robert Mothersbaugh. It is loosely based on Thomas Rockwell's 1973 children's book of the same name. It was also produced by Walden Media, and distributed by New Line Cinema.

Development began in 1998, and the theatrical release for the United States and Canada was August 25, 2006. The film stars Luke Benward, Adam Hicks, Hallie Eisenberg, Austin Rogers, Andrew Gillingham, Alexander Gould, Blake Garrett, and Philip Daniel Bolden. The film received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

A young boy named Billy Forrester (Luke Benward) has a weak stomach and vomits easily. He and his parents, Mitch (Tom Cavanagh), Helen (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), and his little brother, Woody (Ty Panitz), have just moved to a new town. Billy tells his mother that he doesn't want to go to school because he will be "the new kid". She assures him that he will make friends and everything will be okay.

At school, Billy becomes the target of the school bully, Joe Guire (Adam Hicks), his two "toaders" named Plug (Blake Garrett) and Bradley (Philip Daniel Bolden), and the rest of his gang: Benjy (Ryan Malgarini), Techno-Mouth (Andrew Gillingham), Twitch (Alexander Gould), and Donny (Alexander Agate). They rudely stare at Billy and call him "Billy F." (which is how his name is written on his lunch box). Plug and Bradley steal Billy’s lunch box when he is not looking. Billy sits behind Erika Tansy (Hallie Eisenberg), an unusually tall girl whom people make fun of (calling her "Erk").

At lunch, Billy opens his thermos and pours out a pile of live earthworms that Plug and Bradley had put inside. Sickened, he almost vomits before regaining strength. Joe asks Billy if he eats worms. Billy says "I eat them all the time", then throws a worm at Joe's face. A nerd named Adam Simms was sure the Joe was going to punch Billy with his ring "The Death Ring" which is rumored that whoever Joe punches it with dies in 8th grade.

Joe, Plug, and Benjy catch up with Billy as he heads home. Joe proposes a bet: Billy is forced to eat ten worms in one day (the coming Saturday) without throwing up. If he isn't able to eat all of the worms, he will have to walk around the school with worms in his pants. Billy knows that he cannot back out of the bet, so he accepts.

The next day, Billy is teamed up with Adam. While they cook the first worm "Le Big Porker" in the park they get chased by a park ranger for using a grill without adult supervision but they outrun him. While cooking the second/third worm, "The Greasy Brown Toad Bloater Special," at Adam's uncle Ed's (Clint Howard) restaurant, the Brown Toad, Ed kicks them out for having the worms in his restaurant. After Billy eats the fourth worm, "The Burning Fireball," and burns his mouth, Twitch and Techno-Mouth quit Joe's team and become his new best friends. Billy, Techno-Mouth, Twitch, and Adam then go to a convenience store. They walk around separately, and find Adam playing Dance Dance Revolution, but one of the boys spills his drink. This causes the machine to blow up and they get kicked out for making a mess. At the playground, Billy eats the next three worms, "Magni-Fried," "Barfmallo," and "Peanut Butter and Worm Jam Sandwich."

After dinner, the boys go to a bait shop, where Billy eats the next two worms, "The Green Slusher" and "Radioactive Slime Delight," while the owner is out, but her unexpected return leads to her briefly chasing them for breaking into her bait shop. After Joe cheats in an attempt to keep Billy from eating the last worm, "Worm A La Mud," all of his gang leaves and joins Billy's team. Billy eats the final worm before the deadline. Nigel Guire (Nick Krause), Joe's brother, tries to bully and humiliate Joe; but Billy and the rest of the gang stand up for him, telling Nigel to leave him alone, and he leaves.

After thinking it over that night, Billy returns to school. He explains to Joe that the second worm was eaten by their principal, Burdock (James Rebhorn) when Adam accidentally put it in his omelet at the Brown Toad. They are then interrupted by Burdock, who nearly catches them when a worm falls out of Billy's pants, which Joe covers up with his shoe. After Burdock returns to his office, the kids all run outside and celebrate as Billy and Joe both take the worms out of their pants and throw them into the air.

Cast

Differences from the book

Though the film and the book share the concept about a bet between boys to eat earthworms, the nature of the situation differs significantly. In the book, the characters consist of four boys who are friends hanging around during the summertime. Billy has to eat fifteen worms in fifteen days, and the terms of the bet are fifty dollars, which he intends to use to buy a dirt bike.

Many of the film's subplots, that he is new in school, that Joe is a bully, that Billy has a weak stomach, and that Joe threatens him with a Death Ring, do not appear in the book. Unlike in the film, his parents eventually find out about the bet, which he ultimately wins instead of tying. All the worms he eats in the book are nightcrawlers, and Erika, the girl who helps him in the film, is not introduced until the book's sequel, How to Fight a Girl.

Accolades

Soundtrack

• "The Tide Is High" – Performed by Matthew Sweet
• "Gone" – Performed by All Too Much
• "Baby Beluga" – Performed by Ty Panitz
• "Human Hands" – Written and Performed by Joe Mannix, Chris Peck, Bob Bruchu and Ed Fingerling
• "Get Ready for This" – Performed by 2 Unlimited
• "3 Little Bird" – Performed by Hallie Kate Eisenberg and Ty Panitz
• "Rocket Full of Power" – Performed by The Wipeouters
• "Move Your Feet" – Performed by Junior Senior
• "Jungle Boogie" – Performed by Kool & The Gang
• "Yum Yum Yum" – Performed by Mark Mothersbaugh, Robert Mothersbaugh (as Bob Mothersbaugh) and Bob Casale

See also

In Spanish: How to Eat Fried Worms para niños