SPLITSVILLE

Society has come a long way since Disney's original “Parent Trap” gave an impressionable generation the simplistic false hope that a little twin scheming and slapstick could somehow force divorced mothers and fathers back together. Compare/contrast with SPLITSVILLE, a savvy comedy that manages to be realistic about broken marriages and the kids left holding the pieces. When James' dad walks out, the boy fears he's become another single-parent statistic, especially when preening pal Chris, who can boast of a matched set of original parents, openly disdains him. Their feud spreads from the soccer field to the classroom, thorughout the whole fifth grade, prompting James to form a new clubhouse called the Loyal Order of Divorce. It's part kiddie self-esteem and support group . . . and part “Lord of the Flies,” as children whose folks aren't divorced try to qualify for membership, by any means necessary. Underscoring the funny stuff is a sly look at how younsters on an unmerry-go-round of rotating visitation rights and extended stepfamilies struggle to comprehend the adult world's sometimes-juevenile practices of sex, love, estrangement, and exclusion.