The Kings of Summer (2013)

[Plain Old Tele]

Discuss.

[Fancyarcher]

A pretty realistic coming of age portrayal of teenagers and problems they have with their parents. As I watching the film, Patrick's mother (Megan Mullally) made me appreciate my mother a lot, especially given how annoying and clueless she was.

 

My biggest problem with the film was the tonal switch, which while I expected, I thought it could have handled a little better. It was good character building for Joe though.

 

Good performances all around.

 

8 / 10

Edited January 5, 2014 by Fancyarcher

[mattmav45]

I enjoyed this quite a bit.

 

The story centers around a group of three boys who get fed up with their parents and decided to build and live in a house in the woods.  On the surface this is a coming of age story that really shouldn't work all that well.  For one, the boys themselves aren't really developed all that much.  There is simply not much shown pertaining to their character outside of their surface traits and characteristics.  Typically a signal of death, but I can't help but feel the lack of development in and of itself was significant in this case.

 

The boys themselves don't really seem to grow much from their experiences in the woods.  At the end of the film as a viewer I wasn't quite sure I had just witnessed three boys transgressing into adulthood.  After all, here are boys who bought chicken from Boston Market to feed their appetites.  Here are boys who allowed a petty crush over a girl break up their friendship.  Temporarily, of course.  I have come to believe these are not flaws in the film but instead are essential to what the film ultimately becomes.

 

Instead of a coming of age story this is a celebration of the innocence and adventure found in adolescent boys.  More than anything the film feels very honest in its portrayal of the boys.  It's easy to sit here during a review and type the characters could have been developed a bit more, but then one is hit with the realization that perhaps in reality all 14-year old boys are as simple as portrayed here. Hell, I wouldn't argue if one made the statement that I was in fact shallow as fuck at that age.  It is this honesty that allows the film to feel realistic.

 

This is a film that is more about the growth of adolescent boys rather than truly being a coming of age tale.  Here are boys that want desperately to be on their own.  This is evident in all the "we're adults now" talk that tends to pop up in the film.  It shows a group of boys who are well on their way to adulthood but still need a little time to get there.

 

The climax with the snake is particularly interesting to me.  We see that the boys have indeed grown throughout their time in the woods.  Joe handles the situation pretty damn brilliantly.  And yet, it is only as a result of his Dad showing up that Biaggio is ultimately saved.  Despite all their growth we still have a group of boys who were ill-equipped to handle a true emergency.  One can only assume an adult would have taken the proper precautions.  The play between adulthood and adolescence is what makes this film so damn interesting to me.

 

It feels like an anti-coming of age story, but it is through its honest portrayal of the boys that allows the film to become something else entirely.