The Odd Life of Timothy Green might work for viewers who enjoy taking a “giant” leap of faith. But the film may not please movie fans who like some probability with their imagination.

Jim and Cindy Green (Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Garner) can’t have children. Even an adoption agency seems to find them unacceptable. So they go home to their quaint small town of Stanleyville and cry their eyes out. After a few days of doom and gloom, they energize themselves by making notes of the perfect qualities their child would have. Then they stick these notes in a wooden box and bury it in the dark of night.

When a freak thunder storm hits their house only, it produces magic on the spot where the box is buried. Jim and Cindy awake to find a mud-covered boy sitting in their kitchen. He calls Cindy and Jim “Mom and Dad.” Cindy cleans him up and learns his name is Timothy (CJ Adams), the same name they were going to give a boy if they had one. In the process of trying to figure out where he came from, they discover Timothy has green leaves attached to his lower legs.

The desperate parents ask no more questions and begin to act like Timothy was adopted so that they can share the news with family and have Timothy start school. He’s up for anything! However, other family members are not so accepting of Timothy. Jim’s dad (David Morse) sees him as a loser on the soccer field – just like Jim was. Cindy’s affluent sister (Rosemarie DeWitt) acts like Timothy is a second-class citizen, and her boys treat him even worse.

Still, Timothy appears optimistic about everything; he looks at the jar as half-full. But things for his family and all of Stanleyville become bleak when the town’s biggest employer – a pencil factory – is about to close. Yet while none of the adults in town can figure out a way to save the factory, Timothy can! Unfortunately, this story is told in a ridiculous flashback style that’s annoying because the story makes little sense anyway.

I like imaginative stories, but this particular plot simply does not work for me. Yes, I can buy the idea of a boy rising from the dirt, but not that an entire town would become Mayberry. Plus, there are some rough moments and cliché elements we’ve seen time and time again. These include: the factory about to close; bullying of the odd kid; parents who have no real solutions but come out ahead anyway; a boss (Dianne Wiest) who can’t see the good in people; a coach (Common) who doesn’t want to play the weaker player; doting older relatives (Lois Smith and M. Emmet Walsh); and the girl who wants to rescue the bullied kid (Odeya Rush).

Peter Hedges directs and wrote the screenplay, based on a story by Ahmet Zappa. Hedges has given moviegoers some good films such as What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Dan in Real Life, but this story needed a lot of work. Even the acting comes across as minimal. Adams (who starred in Dan in Real Life when he was six) delivers the best performance here.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green does not seem to have an audience. Adults will probably tire of the clichés very quickly, and the movie lacks appeal for kids. At the screening I attended, one young boy was wailing so loudly, it disturbed many people around him. I can’t help feeling that some aspects of this film are not suited for younger children.

(Released by Disney Enterprises and rated  “PG” for mild thematic elements and brief language.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com.