Secondhand Lions

I suppose my expectations hadn't been high or perhaps I wasn't aware of some of the cuter details of this picture, but I was simply delighted by it.
Introverted, unsmiling Walter (Haley Joel Osment) is left by his less-than-ideal mother (Kyra Sedgwick) with her uncles (Michael Caine and Robert Duvall) for the summer. It's rumored that the uncles, who disappeared for about forty years, earned/stole/found a fortune that they've hidden away, and Walter's mother not-so-subtly hints that if they liked him, they might leave it to him. The uncles, who spend their days shooting fish in the lake (literally, with guns) and shooting at traveling salesmen (again, literally, with guns), are less than thrilled with the idea of taking on their great-nephew, but naturally, they all come to enjoy each others' company. Garth (Caine) tells Walter all kinds of wild stories about Hub (Duvall), who kept Garth alive through many scrapes as they're kidnapped and enlisted into the French Foreign Legion... but Walter wants to hear about one particular story involving a young woman that Hub loved and lost. When the uncles buy a used lion that they intend to hunt and shoot, the lion that's delivered is too old for it to be sporting and Walter is allowed to keep it as a pet.
One big thing that they constantly return to is the idea of becoming a man. After teaching a lesson to some local teens, Hub gives them a speech about becoming a man, a speech that Walter wants his uncles to stick around and give to him someday. Unsurprisingly, the movie includes money-grubbing relatives, ridiculous flashback scenes, and a point when Walter must make a choice as to whether or not something has to be true for you to believe in it.
All in all, I found it to be adorable. Michael Caine fills his usual role as the narrator and Robert Duvall is the gruff uncle who has seen it all. Osment is potentially a bit old for this role, but he actually pulls it off, even if he's a bit weepy at times. It's over the top, but it knows that... and it wants you to know it, too... otherwise, you wouldn't be able to make your choice as to whether or not something has to be true for you to believe and find value in it.