The Kings Of Summer began it’s NY/LA theatrical run on May 31st and is now playing in Austin as well. Check local listings to see if it is playing in your area.
On the one hand, I’m a massive sucker for coming of age movies. But on the other, I’m forever cursed to compare them all to Stand By Me. And that isn’t really fair to… all other coming of age movies. Sure, there are some stories in this sub-genre that escape comparison by being so far outside the norm… such as Let The Right One In. But The Kings Of Summer perhaps invites comparison to Stand By Me as it primarily tells a story of a small group of early-teen boys running away together to escape the confines of their troubled lives at home.
There is a lot to like here with The Kings Of Summer and I have to imagine that audiences will, in general, eat this film up. The comedy is sharp and well delivered by a cast led by primarily unknown teen actors, and supported by some well-loved names in comedy right now, such as Alison Brie and Nick Offerman as the sister and father of our lead character (both are pretty awesome here.) The storyline is wistful and will remind everyone, at some point, of their own experiences of growing up, finding and/or losing that first love, and even just… playing out in the woods.
The movie’s effectiveness lies entirely at the feet of its young cast and, for the most part, our central trio is pretty stellar. Lead character Joe (Nick Robinson) is a classic everyteen. Having lost his mother years ago, he finds himself at odds with his father, distant from his school work, and longing for the freedoms that will come with graduating from high school. His best friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso) has overbearing parents, and is slightly bigger and more athletic than Joe, but often seems to fall into acting as Joe’s sidekick. The completion of our trio is Biaggio (Moises Arias), who is the total wild card of the film. It is almost as if Biaggio is a mythical (and comedic) creature in the midst of a film otherwise set in the real world. But we’ll come back to that. The dynamic, comradarie, tension, and humor shared between these teens is the heart and soul of The Kings Of Summer.
First time director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and writer Chris Galleta haven’t quite made a Stand By Me-level, all time great coming of age comedy here. But what they have crafted is maybe this generation’s most solid and entertaining straight-up coming of age comedy/drama. The film skews more towards being a comedy and that is sometimes to its detriment. For instance, the Biaggio character scores some of the films biggest laughs, but those laughs occasionally come at the expense of the otherwise grounded drama that the filmmakers are setting up. Biaggio comes along with best friends Joe and Patrick seemingly on a whim when they run away from their parents and make a pact together to build a house in the woods and contact no one on the outside. I don’t really buy that these guys would hang out with Biaggio, and I don’t really believe that any human without serious developmental disorders acts like Biaggio or says things like Biaggio. That is all fine except for the sense of disconnect that this character brings with him. It is as though he has his own movie he is starring in and it isn’t The Kings Of Summer.
Otherwise, the dramatic beats here are authentic, and often times they hit close to home. There is some romantic tension that develops when Joe and Patrick end up being interested in the same girl, Kelly (Erin Moriarty.) Those moments of youthful love and tension among friends all work like a charm and the dialog succeeds where many teen films fail in that it really sounds like teenagers talking. These characters do and say things that teenagers do and say, often making you want to reach onto the screen and promise them that “it gets better” and that the angst subsides.
Beyond the dramatic and comedic arc of the story, there is a lot of really awesome filmmaking going on as well. I’m listening to Ryan Miller’s score on Spotify as I write this review, and it also stood out to me (in a good way) as I watched the film. Miller mixes the sounds of youth, such as video game beeps and boops, with atmospheric and melodic elements that feel more traditional. Even though these guys spend most of the film out in the woods or in a super-awesome treehouse of their own design, video game cues in the soundtrack remind us of the suburban teen roots these guys have. Cinematographer Ross Riege brings a keen eye to the look of the film, too. There are some shots that will break your heart, such as the long take when Kelly chooses one friend over the other and we see the spurned character’s reaction. There are also some really great slow motion moments and nostalgic nature shots that kind of make you want to build a treehouse in the woods, too.
I laughed a lot during The Kings Of Summer. I felt a little wistful and angsty too, which might be a healthy barometer to measure the quality of any coming of age story. The whole team, from actors to those behind the camera and in post production seem to have known this movie was a huge calling card opportunity for them. And they brought their best work. I’d love to see more work from Jordan Vogt-Roberts and writer Chris Galletta. And my only real hope for improvement from either of them on a second outing would be an improved grasp of tone. I would watch a whole movie about a Biaggio-style character, but that dude is just too far out for the rest of what is going on here in The Kings Of Summer. But that is just my complaint, and it is a very subjective one. All told, I think many will be ready to crown this movie the king of Summer 2013.
And I’m Out.