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Jordan Vogt-Roberts
May 31, 2013
Just like any other 15-year-old boy, “The Kings of Summer” has its own uncontrollable mood swings. It struggles to find the right balance between drama, sadness, and comedy, and this is where it truly fails. Take Joe’s (Nick Robinson) father (Nick Offerman). He does a brilliant job of being a condescending asshole (as any parent in a teen movie should be), but when he chews out Joe for typical teen behavior, his sarcastic insults leave undeciding laughs. But this is a coming-of-age movie, and although there are some potholes, they are more or less paved with beautiful sceneries and one heck of a plot.
High Schooler Joe Toy suffers a dysfunctional relationship with his father that explodes into abrupt arguing almost every chance the movie gets. Joe’s friend Patrick lives arguably a worse life with his overprotective, un-cool, old-school parents. And in case you couldn’t tell by his clothes, his mother (Megan Mullaly) will refer to the T.V. as “the cable.”
After a dramatic family Monopoly night at the Toy’s household, Joe had the last straw. He locates a clearing in the woods that he found after returning from a late-night party and convinces Patrick and tagalong Biaggio (Moises Arias) that they should build a house and live like true men. It’s a tough sell for Patrick but one last nerve-pinching interaction with his parents sends him over the edge and he agrees to set up camp.
Set in the forest for a majority of the film, there are a lot of beautifully filmed shots that will go unnoticed. The open wheat field, the moonlit opening in the woods, and even the bashful banging on metal pipes that maintains upbeat tempos are oddly calming. It’s the moments that are completely unconnected from the film. When nature’s true beauty can be appreciated for even a few seconds.
But this however can’t excuse the absence of behavior teens reflect in a teen dominant movie. For example, Patrick lives in a strict household, with no secrets, no lying, and no disrespect. So in return Patrick is a calm collected kid who keeps to himself in hopes of not getting chewed out. Joe on the other hand lives in a very different household where disrespect is more tolerated and whoever is loudest wins. This toys with Joe’s understanding of what it means to be masculine so he develops unhealthy relationships. It’s a missed opportunity for the perfect movie. Normally all fingers would point to script writer Chris Galletta, but it was his first rodeo so I’ll forgive him.
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