Almost fell asleep
Added 7/8/2009
I'm trying to find why people liked this movie so much, but I still don't get it. The characters are self-centered, not very insightful, and not particularly believable. The monologues and dialogues are endless, and sound like nobody anybody knows. Usually when one finds somebody, even remotely close to this level of pretenciousness, the natural instinct is to flee. I've read people describing this as the "voice of a generation", but I hope the generation it's describing isn't as pathetic as this. So to sum up: Kicking and Screaming is about narcicistic, pathetic pretentios loosers, with no redeeming qualities, who lounge around groping for a meaning to life that's never going to arrive. Sounds delightful.
0 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Looks like somebody stayed too long in film school
Added 5/26/2009
I just couldn't care about these just past college 20-somethings, struggling to find themselves while engaging in annoying fake quiz games. There is some gratuitous sex to liven it up a bit, but the dialogue is just too collegiate, the characters far from real and the whole thing seems to lack a point. I had to pause it about 16 times just to get through it.
0 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Kicking and Screaming - Criterion review
Added 1/19/2009
A heartbreaker this
And FINALLY on dvd (Criterion!)
Features several deleted scenes (in one we learn that Chet went out with Grovers ex)
Also, a few skits with a couple actors from the film; not related to the film - they just go on a trip for a day, come right back, then find themselves locked out
And Kicking and Screaming..
Well, what can you say? Eigerman realized that his fellow actor Carlos Jacot (as fellow housemate Otis) was stealing the film, and was glad about it: kind of emphasizes how much of a group effort this is, rather like 12 Angry Men or something
Grover is the main character, we get more insight into his life than the others, but the others do hold their own. Little bits slip out: Otis's brother with the mail fraud, himself caught looking at porn by his mom (he defers grad school rather than move to a different time zone); Max is completely bored and continuing his life as before. Chet has a kid and seems to be content with his life as it happens now, as he sees himself as a student. Perpetual
The girls seem more focused than the guys, at least they're doing things (studying, working)
Originally titled Fifth Year (one of the dvd bonus features has the script for the film being touched on) this is a heartbreaking portrait of a stalled break out plan. The film begins with a graduation.. and thats it! No action after that, save to go on to the old bars ("Hitting the Penguin!")
Poor Skippy makes enough money from the summer job so he can take classes (Grover and Max spot him on campus, but he can't talk, gotta run!)
Grover is still wounded by his ex, whos seemed to have left him for Prague..
This is a very subtle film, and repays several viewings. Elliot Gould (Grovers divorced dad) comments to his son: "Why aren't you with her?" and Grover has no reply.
Little things like that you may not pick up on first viewing, and really rub the salt into the wound..
Basically, you know the characters, and heaven help you if you're a college grad whos in the same boat (jobless, out of money, totally screwed - with the best job behind them is driving a milk truck!)
This film really cuts deep if you're of a similar age, or experience, because the characters are really true to life
As I said, its an ensemble case.
That being said though, Otis has some great lines!
Maybe Fifth Year would've been a more apt title
Soundtrack includes tunes by Nick Drake (Time of no reply) & Freedy Johnston (Bad reputation). Spot the director Baumbach as the fellow asking Skippy as hes moving in to his dorm whether he'd do his mother or a cow
Painful beyond belief. And one of the best films ever made. If you can connect to it, you'll watch it time and again. In fact it might even get you through if you're in a similar situation to the characters (lifes just stalled, and run out of puff).
The half dozen deleted scenes are cool too. Very nice package. Criterion, thank you!
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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This is a gem, don't miss it
Added 10/27/2008
There is a certain quality about this film which makes it watchable over and over again. I think it has to do with the success of the flashback sequences providing just enough overlap of weaving the story and the characters together. There is cleverness and a humble attention to human reality that just packs every little scene - you can watch this totally out of sequence and still enjoy it. I don't think it has anything to do with the post-college setting, it has more to do with the universal nature of fleeting relationships, bad choices made out of pride, and the sort of instant nostalgia you feel for things that you knew were good and let slip away. This is a very smart, funny movie I highly recommend. There's no gimmicky death, illness, or obsurd plot points - just an honest story about lost love and friendships as they mature through time, played by skilled actors and filled with great dialogue.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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do not turn to this movie if you are suffereing from a quarterlife crisis
Added 8/31/2008
Not to be confused with the Will Farrell flick of the same name, the movie by Noah Baumbach is an attempt at reminiscence of lost love and the misplaced excitement of college life. On paper, this film's premise seems exciting, daring even, but on film Kicking and Screaming is simply another post-college drag. At an hour an a half this movies seems a semester long - as long as it takes the protagonist to realize he can't skip in time - whether backward or forward. This film contains a poignant supporting performance by Eric Stoltz.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Almost fell asleep
Added 7/8/2009
I'm trying to find why people liked this movie so much, but I still don't get it. The characters are self-centered, not very insightful, and not particularly believable. The monologues and dialogues are endless, and sound like nobody anybody knows. Usually when one finds somebody, even remotely close to this level of pretenciousness, the natural instinct is to flee. I've read people describing this as the "voice of a generation", but I hope the generation it's describing isn't as pathetic as this. So to sum up: Kicking and Screaming is about narcicistic, pathetic pretentios loosers, with no redeeming qualities, who lounge around groping for a meaning to life that's never going to arrive. Sounds delightful.
0 out of 3 people found this helpful.
|
Looks like somebody stayed too long in film school
Added 5/26/2009
I just couldn't care about these just past college 20-somethings, struggling to find themselves while engaging in annoying fake quiz games. There is some gratuitous sex to liven it up a bit, but the dialogue is just too collegiate, the characters far from real and the whole thing seems to lack a point. I had to pause it about 16 times just to get through it.
0 out of 4 people found this helpful.
|
Kicking and Screaming - Criterion review
Added 1/19/2009
A heartbreaker this
And FINALLY on dvd (Criterion!)
Features several deleted scenes (in one we learn that Chet went out with Grovers ex)
Also, a few skits with a couple actors from the film; not related to the film - they just go on a trip for a day, come right back, then find themselves locked out
And Kicking and Screaming..
Well, what can you say? Eigerman realized that his fellow actor Carlos Jacot (as fellow housemate Otis) was stealing the film, and was glad about it: kind of emphasizes how much of a group effort this is, rather like 12 Angry Men or something
Grover is the main character, we get more insight into his life than the others, but the others do hold their own. Little bits slip out: Otis's brother with the mail fraud, himself caught looking at porn by his mom (he defers grad school rather than move to a different time zone); Max is completely bored and continuing his life as before. Chet has a kid and seems to be content with his life as it happens now, as he sees himself as a student. Perpetual
The girls seem more focused than the guys, at least they're doing things (studying, working)
Originally titled Fifth Year (one of the dvd bonus features has the script for the film being touched on) this is a heartbreaking portrait of a stalled break out plan. The film begins with a graduation.. and thats it! No action after that, save to go on to the old bars ("Hitting the Penguin!")
Poor Skippy makes enough money from the summer job so he can take classes (Grover and Max spot him on campus, but he can't talk, gotta run!)
Grover is still wounded by his ex, whos seemed to have left him for Prague..
This is a very subtle film, and repays several viewings. Elliot Gould (Grovers divorced dad) comments to his son: "Why aren't you with her?" and Grover has no reply.
Little things like that you may not pick up on first viewing, and really rub the salt into the wound..
Basically, you know the characters, and heaven help you if you're a college grad whos in the same boat (jobless, out of money, totally screwed - with the best job behind them is driving a milk truck!)
This film really cuts deep if you're of a similar age, or experience, because the characters are really true to life
As I said, its an ensemble case.
That being said though, Otis has some great lines!
Maybe Fifth Year would've been a more apt title
Soundtrack includes tunes by Nick Drake (Time of no reply) & Freedy Johnston (Bad reputation). Spot the director Baumbach as the fellow asking Skippy as hes moving in to his dorm whether he'd do his mother or a cow
Painful beyond belief. And one of the best films ever made. If you can connect to it, you'll watch it time and again. In fact it might even get you through if you're in a similar situation to the characters (lifes just stalled, and run out of puff).
The half dozen deleted scenes are cool too. Very nice package. Criterion, thank you!
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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