Filmed partly in the Salt Lake area — and featuring the Saltair Pavilion as a prominent landmark — "Josh and S.A.M." is a little independent road yarn about two boys who run away from home.
Bolstered by charming performances and good use of locations, the picture never quite builds the head of steam it aims for . . . but it does get better as it goes along.
The two title characters, 12-year-old Josh and 8-year-old Sam, are brothers whose parents are divorced. They live with their mother (Joan Allen) in California, and as the film opens, are preparing to visit their dad (Stephen Toblowsky) in Florida.
But because they don't get along with their father's stepsons, they dread the trip. And computer nerd Josh is tired of his dad's open displays of disappointment that his son is not a jock.
To make matters worse, after they arrive, Sam sides with the stepbrothers in making Josh's life miserable.
So Josh gets revenge by convincing Sam that he is actually a genetically engineered government weapon, his name being an acronym for "Strategically Altered Mutant."
To escape this government plot, they hit the road and head toward Canada, encountering an array of characters, including a drunken cowboy (Chris Penn), whose car they steal, and a hitchhiking young woman (Martha Plimpton), who helps them drive through Salt Lake City.
And soon Sam becomes convinced he's invincible, his reckless behavior — jumping under a moving train, riding on top of a truck — marring what is otherwise a pretty good family picture.
Another problem, which is not so easily overcome, is having the parents portrayed as nitwit stereotypes in the film's opening moments, then having them become warm and caring at the end, a transition that is not very convincing.
Still, there are the fine performances by young Fleiss and especially Tierney, who seem more like real kids than most youngsters we see on the big screen.
"Josh and S.A.M." is rated PG-13 for violence, some profanity and a few vulgar remarks.