Being a teenage boy is a kin to a horror show. I speak from experience as I am a male and once, many moons ago, I went through the dread of pubescence. It is a confusing time when you want to dig a hole in the ground and either bury your head in it or poke and prod it with your enflamed nether regions. Good times.
“The Kings of Summer” is a gem of flick that captures the essence of this hormonal limbo and plunges us into the off-center world of a young Joe (Nick Robinson). Joe stands on the cusp of manhood, a troubled kid who thinks that the answer to his problems is simply running away to the forest and building himself a home so that he may stand independent and care free. It’s the plan of a child but Joe is old (and dumb) enough to execute it and he, with the help of his best friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso) and a strange little creature named Biaggio (Moises Arias who steals much of the spotlight with his warped performance), actually builds the house and disappears into the trees. It is the only way Joe can think to get rid of The Problem.
The Problem is Joe’s overbearing father, Frank, played with stern perfection by Nick Offerman (Mr. Ron Swanson from “Parks and Recreation”). Frank is a widower left alone to struggle with his relationship with Joe and is confused by life about as much as his teenage son. With Joe away in the bushes learning to become an adult, Frank gets to analyze their issues and touchy-feely stuff like that.
Let me assure you that “The Kings of Summer” is not as serious as it sounds. In fact it is easily the funniest film I’ve seen this year. This is not your typical coming-of-age story with textbook characters cut from the standard Hollywood template. This film paints a vivid picture of childhood that belongs on the shelf with “Stand by Me” or last year’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”. What is exciting about “Kings” is that the film is wholly original as director Jordan Vogt-Roberts populates his film with characters spun with quirk. Offerman is joined by many other funny folks that include Alison Brie and (Offerman’s wife) Megan Mullally who may be the hardest working person in show biz. Vogt-Roberts creates his unique world through his actors and makes “The Kings of Summer” a film that you must seek out.
While much of the comedy is captured through scenes that must have been improvised, the look of the film adds another layer. The forest is shot beautifully as trees and flowing fields are shown in slow motion. Water babbles and the forest creatures snuffle beneath the dried leaves in search of sustenance. With these two elements (the riffing comedy and gorgeous cinematography) “The Kings of Summer” plays much like a Judd Apatow film directed by Terrence Malick.
My fear is that “The Kings of Summer” will be swallowed up by the huge summer movies that are taking up most of the screens at our local multiplexes. The film is deserving of you attention and should have something for you whether or not you have personally been a teenage boy lost in the forest.