The Kings of Summer is one of the best movies you will see this year, not something easy to say with so many good movies out there. A dramedy about three teenage friends on the verge of adolescence, frustrated by overbearing parents, girls, school, and other life concerns. In the ultimate act of independence, they decide to spend their summer building a house in the middle of the woods to live off the land, one with nature, masters of their own destiny.
I was looking forward to this movie, so I’m glad to say it’s fantastic from start to finish. It takes place during that awkward adolescent period where your raging hormones leave you you confused, wanting to be left alone but just wanting to hang with friends at the same time, and when you really start to see your parents are just as confused and flawed just like everyone else. We’ve all been there. It sucks. But we get though it. And it’s this very relate-able story that the movie does best. We have all been there and no one comes unscathed in some way.
Our story is mostly about Joe (Nick Robinson), increasingly frustrated by his single father, Frank (Nick Offerman) and his attempts to control everything in Joe’s life. Fed up with it all, he declares his freedom once and for all and takes his his best friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso), also slowly being driven crazy by his parents (Megan Mullally and Marc Evan Jackson), and a strange kid named Biaggio (Moises Arias) to build a house in the middle of the woods, away from responsibility and parents.
Joe’s dad, Frank, is trying his best as a widower and single father. But Joe is fighting him at every turn. They are two strong personalities now forced to learn about each other without the buffer of a mother/wife. Meanwhile, Patrick’s parents are way too over-bearing, constantly asking questions, riding him all day long, everything he does is wrong, nit-picking every little thing. He just needs some peace and quiet.
Both guys are just ready to pop. Full of anger and not sure where to put all the emotions they’re feeling. Ultimately, they decide to run away.
Along the way they pick up a stray who more or less just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Everyone knows that strange kid in school; keeps to himself, looks odd, says random things, clearly someone who walks to a different drumbeat. Enter Biaggio, played amazingly by Moises Arias, who steals every scene he in. (And I mean every scene, which is hard, because everyone in the movie is bursting with talent.)
These young actors are amazing, each immersing themselves into their character in a great way. Their raw emotions and problems feel so real that at times you begin to see yourself in them. Their motivations are believable and their performances likewise. The friendship between Joe and Patrick is especially convincing. You buy that these guys are best friends, brothers even; they care deeply for each other and have each others’ backs as they each deal with their own personal hells.
Baggio, likewise, is so real and fun, that just like Joe and Patrick, you forget how odd he is and just except him for what he is. His scenes are laugh out loud funny, that I found myself fighting back tears of laughter. Not much is known about his character in the movie – he’s like a spirit guide, just there without a reason. And it works so well in the film, any more information about him would have taken the weight out of his awesome mystery.
Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Marc Evan Jackson and one great cameo by comedian Kumail Nanjiani round out the cast of adults the kids interact with most. All are wonderful comedians and improve masters. Most of their dialogue has to be filled with great ad-libs because their scenes flow perfectly. Each brings their funny, adding more flavor to something already great.
This is writer Chris Galleta’s first script, but it’s perfect and he deserves great respect. Everything is thought out. The audience is never wondering “what-ifs”; It’s all laid out right in front of you. You can feel the love he must have had for all the characters. This was a story he had to tell, and I’m glad he did.
Growing up is a bitch, hands down. It’s filled with many highs and lows: sadness, loss, anger and friendship. And this movie is great, showing all of them without once becoming pretentious or excessively self-aware. It’s just damn good. It’s nice to see something this wonderful be made and be made right.