This film follows a group of teenage boys during their summer break from school. This ragtag trio consists of the leader, Joe (Nick Robinson), the muscle/conscience, Patrick (Gabriel Basso), and the eccentric "entertainment", Biaggio (Moises Arias). For different reasons these three young men decide that it is in their best interests to run away from their families and create a life for themselves in the woods just outside of their hometown. The "revelation" to escape mainstream life stems from Joe, a typical teenager who makes it his mission to test the boundaries and see how far creating unnecessary "drama" will take him. This drama revolves around his father, Nick Offerman, and his father's new girlfriend. Joe makes it his mission to destroy his father's relationship with women and does a good job of ticking his father off. Add to this some impressionable friends, additional teenage angst, 1 cup of water, wait 5 minutes, and BINGO! you have yourself an instant adventure/coming-of-age tale.
It's fun for the whole family!
The thing I really enjoyed and hated about this film was the constant sense of carelessness or naivety from the boys. They stole money, tools and supplies to build a haphazard "fort" type shelter, using stolen slides and porta-potty doors as they saw fit. This made me uneasy since everything seemed so rushed and unnecessarily dangerous. These boys didn't have any form of construction training or knowledge, even worse, they had no outdoors training. They just pushed forward and "figured it out" when they hit a hurdle. They thought they could wing it in the woods, kill some dinner and hang out. Instead they relied on Boston Market for food and used their imaginations to convince themselves it was "caught". They lived in this makeshift fort that looked like it was a shake, rattle and roll away from collapsing on them. This frustrated me to all end and made me seriously wonder whether I made the right decision in viewing this adventure. However, there was something freeing about their desire for solitude. They took things upon themselves to create the life they felt was necessary to them. They went forth with a vision and acquired it even without the intelligence or means needed to succeed properly; admirable personality traits amongst these boys.
As can be imagined, this lack of knowledge and remote dwelling eventually became a significant problem to our team of misfits. Hunger, the police (missing children draw a lot of attention), inner-turmoil amongst the guys, lack of funds for food, snakes, insanity, can all easily lead to self-destruction. This was something which too drove me bananas. One would think that once this "camp-out" got dangerous, the boys would pull-up shop and return to the world from which they originated. Right? Well this was the case for our brawny thinker and our eclectic show man, but not our fearless leader. DUMB. One man standing after being abandoned by his peers, left to fend for himself against the wild world? It's like Home Alone, only less hijinks and paint can attacks.
The Kings of Summer did offer something to 'We the Viewer' which I did not expect to see. There were numerous imagined situations and sequences. Things where we witnessed bizarre happenings within the film world, like a ninja battle between Joe and his father. Day dream type visuals which added a comical/surreal feel to the story. They were well done and enjoyable. Another thing was that the scenes were visually appealing. I wanted to run away into these wooded ares myself, because it was so beautiful and picturesque. The woods where the adolescent compound was located had beautiful views from ridge tops as well as valleys which had wide streams flowing through them. These natural locations gave this film a very real and shrinking feel, like using California's naturally abundant redwood forests in Star Wars.
AAAGGGHHH!!! What an astute observation.
The Kings of Summer did offer something to 'We the Viewer' which I did not expect to see. There were numerous imagined situations and sequences. Things where we witnessed bizarre happenings within the film world, like a ninja battle between Joe and his father. Day dream type visuals which added a comical/surreal feel to the story. They were well done and enjoyable. Another thing was that the scenes were visually appealing. I wanted to run away into these wooded ares myself, because it was so beautiful and picturesque. The woods where the adolescent compound was located had beautiful views from ridge tops as well as valleys which had wide streams flowing through them. These natural locations gave this film a very real and shrinking feel, like using California's naturally abundant redwood forests in Star Wars.
I say, there's a Boston Market just up this way.
Beep-boop-beep!
Final Words: Medium Popcorn
This film had a very Lost Boys feel while also giving you an extremely emotional ride. Not a roller coaster but more like a ferris wheel. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means saying this film was magical or fast paced, but it turned out to be pretty decent in the end. Grown-up themes a plenty in this film, would advise against the young watching this one.
Until next time, happy viewing!
Review Rating based on popcorn sizes: small, medium, large, extra-large;
films worth skipping get snore...zzzzz
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