Josh and S.A.M.

Josh and S.A.M. is a 1993 American road comedy-drama film starring Noah Fleiss (in his film debut), Jacob Tierney, and Martha Plimpton. The film is about two young brothers who run away from home due to emotional conflict over the divorce of their parents. It was directed by Billy Weber and produced by Martin Brest.

Plot
Twelve-year-old Josh Whitney and his seven-year-old brother Sam are on their way from their mother’s house in the San Fernando Valley region of California to go stay with their father Thom and his new family in Orlando, Florida. Their mother is engaged and set to remarry a man Josh doesn’t particularly care for.

Josh, feeling he is the black sheep of his dad’s new family, wants to get revenge on Sam for always siding with their stepbrothers, unintentionally brainwashes his younger brother making him believe that he is a genetically designed child warrior and that his name is an acronym for "Strategically Altered Mutant.” After a series of coincidences in Josh's lies, Sam eventually believes that he is a S.A.M.

Meanwhile at dinner, Thom tells the boys that they have to fly back to California to get their belongings from their California home and bring them to Thom's house, because their mother and her fiancé are planning on moving to Europe for a year and the boys will move in with Thom.

On the way to California, a thunderstorm grounds the boys’ flight in Dallas forcing them to stay in a hotel for the night. Josh, frustrated with his family situation decides to abandon Sam and his life at the hotel. As the hotel staff is on watch, Josh crashes a high-school reunion and lies that his mother was a graduate.

While crashing the event, Josh meets Derek Baxter, a drunken man claiming to have been in a relationship with the woman whose pin he took. Before Josh has time to clear his lie, Sam appears and joins the two.

Derek drives the boys to a random house, where Josh breaks into with the hope of calling the police. Upon entering the home, Derek sees a picture of the real family and goes after Josh for lying to him about everything leading up to the break-in. In self-defense, Sam hits Derek with a billiard ball and Josh hits him on the head with a pool cue, knocking him unconscious. Fearing they murdered Derek, the boys flee the scene, stealing his rental car in the process.

With Josh in possession of copies of his new stepfather’s credit and debit cards, the boys drive the stolen car across the Western United States, where they encounter Allison, a runaway from Hannibal, Missouri, who the boys believe is “The Liberty Maid” in a coincidental situation based on another of Josh’s lies. Allison travels with the boys along the way, as the trio evade authorities.

During a night stop in a motel, Sam steals the car and abandons it on the side of the road. Josh finds the stolen car, only to find that it broke down, takes a bus and sees Sam stowing on the back of a tractor-trailer unit and exits the bus, reuniting at the border crossing, illegally entering into Canada through a fence.

Josh tries several attempts to tell Sam the truth of his lies, and sends him on a flight back to Orlando. Josh, who is feeling unwanted, stays in Canada.

Sam arrives in Orlando, where he tells Thom of Josh’s whereabouts. Thom tells Sam that he went to Dallas and talked to the Dallas police and the police told Thom that Derek wasn't killed by Josh, but rather knocked unconscious from the pool cue.

Josh arrives back to Orlando, and Sam greets him by turning the tables, using the computer file trick about a file on him.

Cast

 * Jacob Tierney as Joshua "Josh" Whitney
 * Noah Fleiss as Samuel "Sam" / "Killer Sam" Whitney
 * Stephen Tobolowsky as Thomas "Thom" Whitney
 * Joan Allen as Caroline Whitney LaTourette
 * Chris Penn as Derek Baxter
 * Martha Plimpton as Alison (The Liberty Maid)
 * Maury Chaykin as Pizza Man
 * Udo Kier as Tanning Salon Manager
 * Ronald Guttman as Jean-Pierre "J.P." LaTourette
 * Ann Hearn as Teacher
 * Anne Lange as Ellen Coleman Whitney
 * Sean Baca as Curtis Coleman
 * Jake Gyllenhaal as Leon Coleman
 * Amy Wright as Waitress
 * Brent Hinkley as Bill at Reunion

Production
Principal photography began on August 3, 1992. Filming locations include Billings, Montana, Laurel, Montana, and along Highway 3 in Yellowstone County. Other parts of the film were shot in Salt Lake City, Arches National Park, Highway 191, Lisbon Valley, and Spanish Valley in Utah. & Calgary, Canada. Filming lasted for 69 days and concluded on October 11, 1992.

Release
The film premiered on November 24, 1993, at Planet Hollywood in New York City. Jacob Tierney, Noah Fleiss, and their families attended the premiere, but none of the other actors and none of the crew members attended it. The film was released on home video on April 27, 1994 by New Line Home Video, followed by a reissue from PolyGram Video in 1998. MGM, the current rights holder, has no intention of releasing it to DVD or Blu-ray.

Reception
The film received negative reviews from critics. It received a rating of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on eight reviews.