2013: The Year in Film: "Kings of Summer" Review

My interest in this flick was piqued primarily because of two things: a pot-fueled youtube video where Allison Brie and Nick Offerman talk about their next movie, and the fact that it was shot outside of Cleveland, Ohio. (Ohio forever, you guys) I'm always intrigued by new filmmakers, and this flick features a first-time director and screenwriter, played to solid reviews at Sundance and was filmed and set in Ohio.. so count me in. As an aside, I'm not sure what it is about the summer of 2013 and "coming of age stories featuring teenage boys dealing with girls, snakes and building shit in the woods" but the writer of "Mud" (which is MUCH better and the best movie of 2013 thus far, btw) and the writer of this one had some kind of weird mind-meld going on when it came to subject matter.

Freshman year of high school has just ended for friends Joe and Patrick, and their parents are driving them insane. A chance escape through the woods with class goofball Biaggio sparks an idea, and the friends decide to run away to live in the woods. They bring varying degrees of competence to the endeavor, but along the way they find out that they aren't little kids any more, and growing up is much harder than it looks.

The Good: The characters are richly drawn, and best friends Joe and Patrick are convincing and charming, playing friends of that age with wit, authenticity and charm. Nick Robinson (Joe) and especially Gabriel Basso (Patrick) are actors to keep an eye on. Basso, who I recognize from Super 8, falls into his role with a convincing nonchalance more befitting much more experienced actors. Biaggio, played with aplomb by Moises Arias, is an absolutely bizarre and often hilarious human being, and provides many of the flicks funnier moments. Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally (they're married in real life, you guys!) provide Joe and Patrick's parents with some much-needed humanity and charm, as they bring some inherent likability to their roles, which aren't necessarily written with much nuance.  There are some beautiful shots, and the film really makes the most of its beautiful natural setting.

The Bad: the film, ultimately, feels scattered and brings a sitcom sentimentality to something that would have been better suited being played more seriously. The film backs off of mining serious emotional material from its story, opting instead to play it safe or back off entirely. There are situations that are potentially very serious that are immediately turned into jokes (Biaggio at one point says that he doesn't see himself as having a gender - it's never followed up on) and that feels cheap in something that clearly wants us invested in what it's trying to do as a film. I got the feeling that the film was going for a Wes Anderson-esque level of quirk, but the filmmakers here don't get the benefit of Anderson's otherworldly aesthetic so it feels more serious by default. There is a potentially great film buried here, but some curious choices by Galletta and Vogt-Roberts ultimately rob the film of its emotional punch. I can appreciate a quirky indie comedy as much as anyone, but this film absolutely suffers by the decision to back off of the serious emotional material it ends up dancing around.



Ultimately, this is a fun movie that features some very funny moments, strong performances from the leads and some extremely likable comedic moments. It does a great job of capturing that awkward man-boy stage where you aren't really aware that your entire world is about to come crumbling down around you, but ultimately sacrifices real emotion for a quick joke or quirky scene. I have a feeling this flick will ultimately be known for Gabriel Basso's coming out party (the kid's a future star, I'm telling you) and the debut of some clearly talented filmmakers. It's well worth watching, and beautifully done, but in the end, the film falls short of its potential, which is really a shame.

6.5/10. Wait until it's on Netflix/Redbox, and definitely watch "Mud" first.