Kicking and Screaming (1995)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Noah Baumbach

Writers:

Noah Baumbach (story) &
Oliver Berkman (story) ...

Release Date:

6 October 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Anxiety loves company.

Plot:

Following graduation, a handful of college students do nothing and talk about it wittily.

Plot Keywords:

College | College Graduation | Bar | Twenty Something | Flashback Sequence

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Josh Hamilton	...	Grover
Samuel Gould	...	Pete (as Sam Gould)
Catherine Kellner	...	Gail
Jonathan Baumbach	...	Professor
John Lehr	...	Louis
Olivia d'Abo	...	Jane
Peter Czernin	...	Lester
Carlos Jacott	...	Otis
Chris Eigeman	...	Max
Eric Stoltz	...	Chet
Eliza Roberts	...	Josselyn
Jason Wiles	...	Skippy
Parker Posey	...	Miami
Christopher Reed	...	Friedrich (as Chris Reed)
Noah Baumbach	...	Danny

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, and some sexuality.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:R (certificate #33770) | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | UK:15 (video premiere) | Singapore:PG (cut)

Filming Locations:

Occidental College -1600 Campus Road, Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Trimark Pictures

Trivia:

The film was almost accepted in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, but Noah Baumbach refused to cut fifteen minutes as they requested, and the film was ultimately rejected.

Quotes:

[Otis comes out of the bathroom pulling up his zipper]
Max: That is a bad habit. You really need to finish that in the bathroom.

Movie Connections:

References Friday the 13th (1980)

Soundtrack:

Cecilia Ann

Effortlessly breathtaking.

This film is amazing, in my humble opinion.

When I first discovered it, it cost 2 quid in an ex rental knock off shop. I don't know what supreme being possessed me to purchase it, I'd never been aware of its existence before, but it really was lucky.

I think that it is very subjective. This film was very suited to me, especially at that time of my life. It captures a moment in the characters' lives so well, so effortlessly, that it really is very familiar, you almost feel like they're your mates up on screen. It is one of the better and more original 'coming-of-age' flicks out there. I was blown away by it. Forget Dazed and Confused or American Graffiti (both of which I like), this one is more intelligent, more engaging and really interesting. The story is good, the script is good, the acting is good too, it's an all-rounder.

However, there are major problems with it. The script is sometimes a little too....scripty? It's far too contrived and although the actors do their best, at times it does wonder into what we all know now as The Dawson's Creek Syndrome - writing a script with a Thessaurus in one hand, wearing a beret and looking at yourself in the mirror. But for the most part it's completely natural. It does also take a lot of concentration to recognise who's who and what's going on and keep up with the dialogue. However it is worth it. It's also not a film you can drift in and out of, it requires undivided attention to 'get it', and for a film where 'nothing happens', that is a lot to ask of most people.

Despite all this it is one of the best character films (you know, those movies you watch just for the characters and their little interactions on screen) that I know of and well worth a viewing, even if you do have to pull out the phone, disconnect the doorbell, displace your housemates/loved ones and black out the windows.

A very good, well made and very underrated/underexposed film.