"The Fabelmans" is a somewhat semi-autobiographical film by Steven Spielberg about a young boy's love of film making. When the movie is about that boy's love for film, it is really good. When the movie tackles other issues, it becomes very tiresome.

With the movie not being strictly "based on a true story" this allows the film to take more creative liberties with the storyline. That's the right way to go about this story. If the film was specifically about Spielberg, we would all know how things are going to work out. In the same way Stallone could make more out of "Rocky" by not specifically basing it off of one real person, Spielberg can do by making the protagonist Sammy Fabelman.

The movie does a good job of showing this kid's love for movies, how it grew and developed to a desire to make films himself. When the movie focuses on his film making, that is where it is at its best. They demonstrate how the conflicts in his filmmaking parallel what's going on in the family. Sammy's home videos and the creative problem solving he goes through is a lot of fun to watch. The internal struggle he has balancing his passion with practicality is at the heart of the movie's themes. The recurring idea of people's passions and where it takes them. The father seems to have lucked out in that his passion directly goes with a successful career. When you hear the father talk about IBM and engineering, it is clear that he loves what he does. But what do you do when your passion doesn't pay the bills, when it is seen as more of a hobby? The mother had a passion for music but didn't go far in that field. Those elements are when the movie is great.

Unfortunately, the movie has other plot points to worry about. Sammy goes to a new high school, he has bullies, there's a love interest, family drama, depression and let's throw in a monkey as well. When throwing in these extra storylines the movie feels like it is losing its focus. When you are watching, you're just patiently waiting for these scenes to end so we can get back to the cool story.

There are good performances and camera work throughout the story. Spielberg can never be faulted for his eye for great cinematography. But it is the extra story beats that lead this movie astray. Sammy Fabelman should run this through for another edit, then we'd have a great movie.