Film Review: The Kings of Summer
Destined for cult status, this is by far the best film I’ve seen in 2013
It’s a shame, but unfortunately the occasional great film can slip through the cracks and never make it to the cinemas on our shores. More often than not these are independent films that even though did quite well at film festivals, never garner enough hype to warrant an international release, or even a wide domestic (US) release. Such was the case with this gem, The Kings of Summer. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year, and was instantly praised by critics. However its lack of star power didn’t help its chances of reaching a larger audience. It had a limited run in the US, and by limited I mean it was only showing at 4 cinemas on its opening weekend. It eventually spread to 64, but still only pulled in $1.3 million. Never fear, as it’s now being released on DVD.
Joe Toy (Nick Robinson) is a 16 year old high school student desperately trying to escape the clutches of his widowed father (Park and Recreations’ Nick Offerman). While Joe would rather be out partying, his father would prefer he stay in for an awkward game of family Monopoly. Joe’s best friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso) has similar problems of his own with his overbearing parents who are trying oh-so-hard to ‘get’ him. After stumbling upon a hidden piece of land between the large pine trees in the local woods, the boys embark on a scavenger hunt for materials to build their very own summer house. Coming along for the ride is Biaggio (Moises Arias), a fellow oddball classmate fairly unknown to Joe and Patrick.
All three boys share the common desire to rid themselves of parental control. They desperately seek adulthood by removing themselves from society, in turn coming face to face with a much harsher force: nature. While ‘mother nature’ is shown as something beautiful through montages nicely framed by cinematographer Ross Riege, it’s the forces of their own ‘human nature’ that they ultimately must deal with and learn from in order to survive and become the ‘men’ they so desperately yearn to be. Sounds deep I know, but don’t worry, you’re in good hands with the amazing cast. The three boys are all masters of restraint, never over-doing it in any of the emotional scenes. And their comedic talents are quite remarkable for their age. Moises Arias’s Biaggio character is the funniest I have seen on screen in many years. He literally takes the term ‘scene stealing’ to a whole new level in this film.
Coming of age stories can often come across as cringe worthy. Especially when they start taking themselves too seriously, analysing the trivial aspects of pubescent life, and offering preachy-type epiphany’s on the elusive answers to life’s most difficult questions. This is something screenwriter Chris Galletta and first time director Jordan Vogt-Roberts don’t do. They avoid any cliché’s in this genre by not taking themselves too seriously (maybe that’s the answer?), and whenever it looks like they’re sailing into that territory, a bout of hilarious comedy is thrown in. Nick Offerman’s father character is a great example of this as he navigates his way through single-parenthood. Comparisons have been made to Stand By Me, and rightly so. This is definitely a modern day Stand By Me, a very heartfelt, warm and humours film (think ‘Superbad’ funny, but less crude and more intelligent).
I found it very hard to fault this film. I’m quite sure if I looked hard enough I could nit-pick at certain things; unnecessary shots, misplaced score, etc. But when I was watching this my mind would not allow such judgements, there were simply too many great things going on, and in my opinion that’s the mark of a great film. Analysis and critique can sometimes be rendered useless when being confronted with such a great story and likeable characters. Destined for cult status, this is by far the best film I’ve seen in 2013.
The Kings of Summer is now out on DVD/Blu-Ray in North America.
THE KINGS OF SUMMER
Directed by: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Written by: Chris Galletta
Cast: Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Nick Robinson
Released by: CBS Films