The Kings of Summer (2013)

"The Kings of Summer" (2013 release; 93 min.) brings the story of two best friends, Joe and Patrick, both 15 and just having finished their HS freshman year. Joe's dad is heavy-heanded ("my house, my rules!") and Patrick's parents are outright bizzare. Joe hatches a plan to build a cottage out in the woods over the summer. They are joined a strange kid, Biaggio, who works himself up to be a great (and funny) sidekick. As the boys are working on building the shack, they are equally enjoying being out in the woods or daydraming when they feel like it. Once the cottage has been built, they invite some achool friends over, including beautiful Kelly (played by up-and-coming Erin Moriarty). Joe is smitten by her, but she seems to be attracted more to Patrick. At this point we are about half-way into the movie and to tell you more of the plot would ruin your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Several comments: a few months ago we had a fantastic coming-of-age movie called "Mud", and now this movie. It is hard to truly compare the two, as "The Kings of Summer" is a very different kind of "coming of age" movie, with the boys being 4-5 years older than in "Mud". Here, the themes are more directed towards the tensions with the parents on the one hand, and surrounding the girl on the other hand. Stylistically, the movie is a curious mix of a number of genres, some scenes being almost sitcom-like, others reminding of magic-realism (lots of late afternoon orange sunlight) and of nature-adventure (lots of shots of animals in the woods), yet other scenes building suspense on the outcome of it all. Somehow it works. The fact that this is a fairly short movie works to its advantage as this zips by in no time. Kudos also to Ryan Miller for scoring that nice soundtrack. I would be remiss not to mention that this movie was filmed entirely in Ohio (where I am). Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts makes it look beautiful!

This movie was well received at the 2013 Sundance film festival (where it was shown as "Toy's House"). The movie opened today here at my local art-house theatre in Cincinnati, but regretfully the screening I attended was not well attended. I hope that is not a sign of things to come. Regardless, "The Kings of Summer" is a different kind of coming-of-age movie that is worth checking out, be it in the theatre or on DVD.

"Kings of Summer" does something that few movies are able to do. It captures a moment perfectly. For anyone who has been a middle class fifteen year boy this is a movie that captures that perfectly and then tells a great nontraditional coming of age teenage rebellion story. For everyone who has never been a fifteen year old boy it tells an excellent with amazing characters. Every actor in this movie is fantastic. This movie should not be missed.

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One of the best movies of 2013 so far has been the coming-of-age drama MUD. And now, during a summer blockbuster season, another coming-of-age drama/comedy has arrived. THE KINGS OF SUMMER had a very enticing trailer, making it look like a good-natured story of three boys who run away from home to live in the nearby forest in a house of their own construction. It features funny actors such as Nick Offerman and Megan Mullaly. (Yes, I know they are husband and wife in real life.)

The movie ended up being more (and less) than what I expected. It is a far darker, more serious exploration of the family lives of these boys, particularly Joe (Nick Robinson) who lives with his recently widowed father (Offerman) a bitter, sarcastic man who is gruff almost to the point of abuse on his teen son. The two are "dealing" with their loss by lashing out at each other, and Joe finally has enough and decides to move out. He encourages his friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso) to join him. Patrick has very overbearing parents who are experts at embarrassing him. These two old friends are joined by the VERY odd Biaggio (Moises Arias), a bit of an outcast who simply clings to these two and becomes part of their lives.

The movie constantly struggles with tone. It clearly wants to be full of lighthearted moments...gentle humor and ironic observations about how kids and parents often don't see eye-to-eye. Yet the relationship between Joe and his dad is so caustic that we are much more likely to cringe than chuckle or smile. The actors play everything straight, which is what they SHOULD do, but the script makes it tough to balance the comedy and drama. The two want to exist at the same time, but the drama smothers that comedy. There certainly are laughs in the film, particularly around the odd (and highly unbelievable) Biaggio.

In fact, much of the film just felt false. Biaggio is a quirky kid, no doubt with some deep mental challenges. But his strange utterances are mostly funny...but in a way that makes you realize this character could not exist in the real world. He is a comic construction. That's fine...except the film clearly intends to be "realistic." Also, Joe's dad is, I'm sure, meant to be a character for whom we feel some sympathy. A nice, gruff dad who is rattled to the core by his wife's death. But he is SO mean to everyone around him that it's hard not to hate him. He just doesn't feel well thought out. It's possible a guy like this exists...but he just feels wrong.

I liked individual scenes in the film, and I enjoyed many of the performances. It has plenty to recommend it. But the screenplay (and by extension the direction) clearly aspires to more meaning than is actually contained therein. Coming-of-age films have hard-won lessons, tears, laughter and a sense of relief and of character maturing. This film checks all those boxes, but clumsily. And of course these kinds of films need to have some sort of romance as well. Yet the female character in this film is made to behave in ways towards the 2nd half that betray her behavior in the first half. Instead of a sweetness, an innocence, KINGS OF SUMMER is more bitter and angry.

Don't get me wrong...I don't need my movies to be sweet and gentle and happy. But when the film is harsh and bitter even though you can tell it WANTS to be sweet and gentle...that's a problem. So while I marginally recommend KINGS OF SUMMER, I can't also help feeling very let down by it.

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This may not attract audiences immediately, due to the lack of over-the-top CGI and big name celebs... however it is easily in the top five movies of the past decade. With a very well wrote script, incredibly talented cast, and a story that will have you laughing and on the edge of your seat; this movie is not to be missed. Kings of Summer is a film that teens and adults can relate to, and has you wishing you could join the cast in their summer adventure.

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A couple of high school boys frustrated with their home lives set off with another kid to run away and build a makeshift house. The local community is searching for them while they learn to live off the land. The appearance of a girl that the leader of the boys likes creates a rift within them. This unlikely scenario is fun to watch, with its likeable characters, and familiar teenage angst. Problems with girls and parents are typical of teen boys, but the building of a home and being able to not be found are quite unusual. This one is pretty good, though flawed, so The Kings of Summer is a likeable film.

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