Billy (Luke Benward) is a kid who has just moved to a new house and is a little nervous about his new school and making friends. Nothing seems to go right on the first day when he meets Joe Guire, the school bully. Joe (played by Adam Hicks) wears a big ring on his finger called the Death Ring. Other kids say if he punches you with The Ring, you will slowly become poisoned, and die in the eighth grade.

Billy meets one nice girl named Erika who helps him get to class. The kids call her “Erk” and she’s kind of a misfit too. (I have no idea why they call her Erk.) Her role in the movie is “The Girl Who Helps.”

At lunch on the first day when he opens his thermos, worms fall out. When Joe asks him “Do you eat worms?” he says “Sure, I eat them all the time, do you want one?” Then he accidentally throws a worm in the bully’s face! After school, Billy is forced to accept a bet that he can eat 10 worms in one day, or face the horrible DEATH RING. AGGHHH!

There is trouble, because in Billy’s past life he has thrown up frequently due to a weak stomach. Puking was on his daily schedule. Now he’s got to overcome throwing up or lose the bet and put up with the school bully for all eternity, or at least through middle school.

The movie also has a variety of hilarious characters that do dopey things. Woody is Billy’s little brother who is constantly causing him trouble. The principal is another problem because he is always walking into the room unexpectedly and stopping the partying that may be going on. Of course, that’s his job, but he’s shown as a goofball doing it.

Now for the questions. Will Billy eat all 10 worms without throwing up? Will he get punched by the DEATH RING? Will Woody ever stop being annoying?

I liked how they used cartoon humor and made the movie in real people fashion. In one funny scene they sneak into an old lady’s bait shop and one kid puts a worm in the microwave. After 10-15 seconds a small explosion is heard and we see the results. Luckily, as the movie says, no real worms were harmed in the making of the film, even this one.

I’m recommending this movie for kids who don’t think that people eating worms is gross. Aaaa, forget that. Actually, children under 4 might be scared of the bait shop scene because the old lady looks scary. My friend Virgil and I agreed that is was great for most families.

Rated PG for mild bullying and crude humor. I rate it PG for Perfectly Gross!

*** 1/2

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