It's been a rough road for The Fugitive director Andrew Davis. None of the films he's made since have been as consistent or as successful. For his latest project he decided to bring to the screen the beloved children's book Holes. I must confess, I had never heard of the popular novel, but some kids I know have, and they've been waiting for this film with anticipation.

In the family film the likable Shia LaBeouf plays Stanley Yelnats, a young boy plagued by an alleged family curse. When a pair of missing shoes wind up in his possession he is sent to trial for theft and swiftly sentenced to hard labor at Camp Green Lake Juvenile Correctional Facility. While there, he and all the other so called "troubled kids," are forced to dig holes in the hot, Texan desert. They are told that digging these holes will build character, but not surprisingly, it turns out that the warden (played by Sigourney Weaver) has a hidden agenda..

There is another story to be found in Holes--revealed through western-style flashbacks that involve a gunslinger (played by Patricia Arquette), that offer us clues to all this hole-digging.

The cast here is a delight. LaBeouf is a terrific young actor, and has a likable aura about him. Certainly we'll be seeing more of him in the future. The rest of the young cast shine with charisma and a terrific chemistry. It is Jon Voight, however, that steals the movie as one of the supervisers at Camp Green Lake. This veteran actor hams it up as the sunflower seed-eating Mr. Sir, and each time he was on screen, I couldn't help but laugh.

In a way, Holes sort of felt like Shawshank Redemption with kids. All the youngsters are at Camp Green Lake for bad deeds committed, but we the audience still feel sympathy for them. And LaBeouf is there for a crime he didn't commit, but still finds it to be a learning experience. Much of this picture feels like a prison drama, only without the drama.

Holes is a family film at heart and while it does touch on serious subject matter, most of the movie is extremely light and breezy. There is no doubt that it will get the kids talking, particularly where the yellow spotted lizards are concerned.

Holes isn't a total success. Some of the movie feels slightly disjointed. It should also be noted that this picture jumps from past to present, and the transitions aren't always seamless. It may be a little bit tough for younger kids to follow.

Andrew Davis doesn't always appear confident in his approach to this material, but at the very least, he has crafted a film for the entire family. This certainly isn't the type of movie I expected from him. But then neither was Steal Big, Steal Little. I wouldn't call Holes a great movie, but it is a good one. At the very least, you can take your kids to it and not have to worry about anything inappropriate.