The Kings Of Summer ****
The Kings of Summer is a film that evokes a buzz of excitement in that both director (Jordan Vogt-Roberts) and writer (Chris Galletta) are first-timers and have tuned in totally to the teenager psyche when life seems ‘tough’ and we’re itching to get away from the oldies. It’s like a funny Stand By Me, using humour to highlight the irony and poignancy in events that mattered in your early teens. There is a feel-good sense of adventure and old-fashioned play that is missing in this technology age too.
Teenager Joe (Nick Robinson) just doesn’t seem to get on with his father Frank (Nick Offerman at his finest) anymore since his mother passed away. In fact, it feels like father and son will never see eye to eye, but while he’s living under his family’s roof, he has to abide by his father’s rules.
Joe decides enough is enough, and along with best friend Patrick Keenan (Gabriel Basso) who is an only child and henpecked by his embarrassing parents, the pair venture into the woods for the summer to build a house of their own and live off the land. Tagging on for the ride is eccentric but loyal new companion Biaggio (Moises Arias – voice of Astro Boy). However, does their newfound independence bring them the happiness and freedom they seek, especially when a girl comes between friends.
Vogt-Roberts transports the viewer back to a magical time – we’ve all built dens as such, but this goes a stage further, and with a little imagination on just how the boys got the resources to build the home, it’s a thrill to watch them create their own world while batting off sarcastic retorts from Dad (Frank) and humiliating comments from Mum (Mrs Keenan, played by Will & Grace star Megan Mullally who does ‘annoying’ perfectly).
Far from the troubled childhood of some of the Stand By Me characters, there is the reassurance that these kids belong to comfortable homes that to them appear frustrating and uninhabitable. With this in mind, we are allowed to enjoy the tart humour in the knowledge that the boys just don’t know how lucky they have it.
The beauty of this film is the celebration of choice: Joe and co chose to live rough on their own terms, in turn, exposing them to the adult dangers and pressures of life that they are normally shielded from. What they can’t run away from are affairs of the heart, which provides the catalyst for everything coming away at the seams. It’s a true-to-life and uplifting coming-of-age tale with highs and lows, laughter and tears, but with a real sense of accomplishment that shines through.
The film is wonderfully cast, which is half its success, aside from the astute writing. There is an easy style to it, where the directing just allows a nature state of affairs to flourish. The one to watch comes in the diminutive shape of Arias as the quirky and free-spirited Biaggio who absolutely steals the scenes and gives a career-defining performance. Galletta has been wise to ground his character so he is unlike any other ‘zany’ characters of other coming-of-age films. There is a delightful mix of childishness and years-old wisdom to Biaggio that Arias teases out perfectly.
The Kings of Summer demonstrates what happens when good writing meets good directing and casting with a delectable, touching tale that will tap into anyone’s childhood memories of pure escapism.
4/5 stars
By @FilmGazer
