The Kings of Summer

I haven’t reviewed in months, sorry about that, but nothing too interesting has come out since the New Year, except A Monster Calls, so check that out. There are some interesting movies coming at the end of the week, and the week after that, so I’m deciding to start before hand with one of my favorite movies:

The Kings of Summer.

This movie is a coming of age story about two high schoolers wanting to get away from their obnoxious parents. Joe (Nick Robinson) is a freshman in high school that just ended the year and is looking forward to the summer. His Dad (Nick Offerman) is a huge jerk to Joe because they don’t really see eye to eye. Joe’s friend, Patrick (Gabriel Basso), is a wrestler with a leg brace, and his parents breathe down his neck about everything. His mom is like the crazy aunt of the family, but as a mom, and his dad is a stubborn and quiet guy that always agrees with his wife. And with this movie’s honesty, two teenagers with annoying parents only point to trouble. Joe is the mastermind between Patrick and him. He finds a place in the woods and decides to build a house to hide from his Dad. Later on Patrick agrees and they run away from their homes. Another teenager joins in on the fun, Biaggio (Moises Arias) and he is one of the weirdest characters I have seen in a movie. I don’t know how the writers came up with some of his lines, but he stands apart from the rest of the phenomenal actors.

This story is so well directed and written, and the characters are vibrantly shown with passion in every line. Simplicity was key in making this movie. The climax was simple and realistic, and the struggle was very relatable and fleshed out. Time and time again we are reminded what Joe, Patrick, and Biaggio give up in order to live in the wild, and we are also reminded why they left the life they were living. In the end, every character has realized the problems of their relationships and is trying to figure everything out. There is no concrete “ok, that’s settled and we can forget about it.” The solution is still growing after the credits roll, and not every arc is settled redeemably. This movie was hilarious, touching, and outstanding. It deserves a 10/10 respectfully, and I wish there were more movies like it.

P.S. the same director is making the new King Kong movie, which I’m not excited about, but fingers crossed. I’m trying to stay hopeful, but I wish Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the director, had stayed in the simple films.