Loved the book, hated the movie, would have given it zero stars if possible. One would think that the movie took place in the Boston area instead of Manhasset, NY. Affleck is at best a lousy actor whose emotional range runs the gamut from a to b. It is obvious that the filming was done in the Boston area as many of the actors had Boston accents. In the bowling scene , people from Long Island will simply shake their heads as candle pin bowling isn't done on Long Island. I grew up in Manhasset and knew many of the book's characters personally, most Manhasset folks won't recognize much of the book in this movie. I really wonder what JR Moehringer actually thought of the adaptation. The book was an enjoyable coming of age story, the movie is a mess.