Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Yazmin Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

sol- Feeling unprepared for the 'real world', four recent college graduates spend their time philosophising and avoiding taking action in this feature film debut from Noah Baumbach. The film features witty, memorable dialogue left, right and centre as one friend reckons "I've begun reminiscing events before they even occur", while another comments "I feel like I'm being poisoned" if a bartender at a bar does not drink with him, and the list goes on. There is also some quite pointed in how unprepared the foursome are for the real world despite their extensive education, unleashed into the world like a baby not wanting to be born, as the title suggests. None of the characters are, however, particularly likable for all of their witticisms and at times thought-provoking conversations. The foursome actually come across as more lazy than scared or ill-prepared for post-college life, and none of them have especially vibrant personalities either. The brightest moments in the film are, in fact, had by Elliott Gould as the far too open father of the foursome, sharing his experiences with using condoms at his age and finding love post-marriage separation, much to the disgust of his son. The film does tap into something interesting though as the foursome come to realise that they feel "pressure ... to remain friends" post-graduation. This more than anything else captures how microcosmic college life is often considered to be and how different the actual world is. It's a different, inevitable phase of life involving a big transition indeed comparable to birth.

lathe-of-heaven I don't know what it is about this film, and this genre is not by any means even my favourite type of movie (I usually incline much more toward Horror, Science Fiction, and FILM NOIR) BUT... There is just something very magical about this film that completely involves me at many levels. It is obviously very clever, but it does not have the overbearing cynicism of most films of this type. The CHARACTERS are extremely cynical to a fault, but the film isn't. As a matter of fact, the director playing off this fact creates a lot of great and amusing scenes.I sure don't know what Lizreed was smok'n when she wrote her review, but 'Totally disappointing'...??? Seriously...? And 7/10 found THAT useful...? Perhaps they were all smok'n together...Anyway, this is one of the few films where I laugh almost constantly; not in a 'NAKED GUN' kind of way, but just at the throwaway lines and little visuals at the peripherals and in the background. It's rare to find a movie of this type that is scathingly clever but isn't mean spirited, as many scathingly clever people can be. I was amazed at how the film quite genuinely evoked so many different emotions. I could feel the complete ennui and crushing boredom that this group of 'friends' felt. I could very much feel the many different facets of humour presented. I felt the joy at the most cynical and annoying character finding the person he found and the type of person she was. And lastly, without giving too much away, I felt the powerful emotions that the lead, Grover, was feeling at different points in the film.Eric Stoltz is a VASTLY underrated actor; I really like the guy. And, it has been a while since I have seen it, but I remember that I REALLY like Noah's other film starring Eric Stoltz called 'MR. JEALOUSY'. I hadn't realized until looking up the director of this film just now that he also directed that one. I am not at all surprised since it has a similar quality as this one, but if I remember correctly, it is a little lighter in tone.And, the way that the director structured the story with the flashbacks throughout and at the end REALLY pack quite a punch and make the primary point of the film very well.It's funny, I do NOT give out '10's very often and ESPECIALLY not at all for these types of films. Normally I reserve those for Classics like '2001', 'THE SHINING', 'BLADE RUNNER' or 'ISHTAR' (heh, just kidding... :) But, there is just some special quality to this film that works perfectly and to me anyway completely engages you at every level in a very powerful way, but without being a total downer. It could be that this movie just resonates with me in a way that it may not with others. I come across many films here where some say it is their absolute favourite film and it does nothing for me. I think this one could be highly subjective since it deals mostly with this group of college people.

ktotas-1 I liked The Noah Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale but Kicking and Screaming is so inferior to that. It's obvious that this film is his first effort.It is so cliché and slow moving that it is unbearable to watch. It is like the poor man's version of St. Elmo's Fire. I imagine Noah watched St. Elmo's Fire and tried to copy it scene by scene to create an updated version for the 1990's. For the most part, the acting is good and convincing.Although I only paid a few bucks to rent it on Comcast I felt totally ripped off. The only good thing I can say is that it encouraged me (and probably many others) that they too can easily sell their tired,uninspired scripts as well!!

Justin Jones Kicking and Screaming has suffered many setbacks on it's way to being considered somewhat of a cult film. The fact that another film exists with it's same title starring the well-liked Will Ferrel does it's own damage, but still many complain about the content of the film itself.Starting first with the characters that the film depicts. Many complain about them being boring and uninspired. Why couldn't Noah Baumbach pick a group of interesting people and have things happen to them? Mainly because this film is a realistic depiction of types of people you meet and may befriend despite their faults. Baumbach paints each person carefully onto the page from obvious personal experience in college life. Typically, events take place that could happen to any of us; a break up, a divorce, someone moves away, someone stays when they shouldn't, we all make bad decisions which effect our lives in ways we don't realize until it's too late.A good example of the type of slight an artist such as Baumbach faces in his own work is a flashback scene which takes place in Jane and Grover's writing class. Jane makes a comment regarding Grover's piece regarding the hollow nature of his subjects and how they never discuss anything important and tend to discuss the little things with more anxiety than anything else. This rings true to many things I have personally heard regarding "Kicking and Screaming", that everyone could be interesting if they put all of the jokes and snide comments aside and talked about how they really felt. The problem with this is how often do those situations of pure honesty and intimacy arise in the common person's life? It is rare to be able to pull your deepest feelings out for all of your friends to see in every conversation you have, and it usually comes out in a fight or when a situation is deteriorating - such examples are Skippy and Miami/Max and Skippy, which are some of the most honest moments in the film combated with the development of the persons themselves throughout the film.Baumbach tends to overkill the stress on aspiring (as well as accomplished) writers in his best-drawn films, which are this and "The Squid & The Whale. Where as the two parents on the edge of divorce in the latter film are writers, in Kicking and Screaming, the two young people in the outs of their love are aspiring writers and the main's parents are going through divorce. You can see many pieces of Baumbach's latter work in Kicking and Screaming, as he went back to the basics with The Squid & The Whale after suffering many disappointments in the 1990's.It is clear that Baumbach is a different type of film maker than his auteur counterparts such as Wes Anderson. His films feel and look realistic, rather than coming from another world inspired by the many worlds within our own. He has an interesting voice, and a knack for dialog. Kicking and Screaming is a piece of romantic comedy history, and more people should go out of their way to watch it with perspective and an open mind, rather than looking at the faults in the subjects which we all have ourselves.