Rapid Review: The Kings of Summer (2013)

Posted on by Zoë

kings of summer poster

“You’re right, it’s a classic kidnapping. They took our children and the canned goods and pasta.”
– Frank

SYNOPSIS: Three teenage friends, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land. – via IMDB

kings of summer 2

GRADE 7I kept reading good things about this movie, and a lot of people called it a hidden gem film. Eventually I decided to get around to it over the holidays, and I found that I quite liked it. There was nothing new about the coming-of-age story that it told, though it was still heartwarming and surprisingly hilarious at times. I had a really great laugh at the botched Monopoly game ending in a police visit – seriously, that is taking Monopoly to the extreme! I thought the cast was very good and they were all well worth watching. Nick Robinson’s Joe was sweet and depressed and strange, with a bizarre outlook on life and a mustache that really needed to be sorted out, and shared fantastic chemistry with Gabriel Basso’s Patrick, a character I somewhat pitied. Imagine having such overbearing parents! I can totally understand the desperation to get away. Moises Arias’s Biaggio cracked me up. It was just so funny to watch him, he was beyond weird. His aversion to authority was hysterical. Nick Offerman was such an unlikeable being as Frank, and you can totally grasp Joe’s frustration with his father. This was a great flick to watch for those boys-will-be-boys moment, and has you thinking of back when you were younger and the crazy and ridiculous shenanigans you would get up to. I mean, I grew up in a farm in South Africa (back when it was safe) and I lived on some stunning islands when I was younger, too, and no matter what, I would find myself exploring daily, building “homes”, being an awesome Indiana Jones adventurer, it was so much fun. There was no such thing as a dull moment or this bizarre notion of watching TV when I was growing up. Watching this got me all nostalgic. I really liked the flow of the movie, it just sort of breezes along, and you feel that you are a part of this adventure the boys are undertaking, or like it is a summer remembered by friends, how it all came together. It’s a nice feeling. The Kings of Summer was charming and sweet and carried by solid performances from the three leads, and is certainly worth looking into.

19 thoughts on “Rapid Review: The Kings of Summer (2013)”

    1. Hey Mark! Thanks. I have read a few people comparing them… I can’t honestly say I have ever seen Stand By Me. I would have to watch it again and see. I do hope that you enjoy this when you get to it!

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