The story is about a rebellious teenage boy, Joe who can't bear his grumpy and distant old man . Together with his childhood best friend Patrick and a funny looking boy Biaggio, they ran away into the woods, built a house from scratch, and started their own life'into the wild'.
I really love to watch'coming-of-age' films because you as an audience can actually witness the physical and psychological change of the main characters, however it is almost impossible to make a'coming-of-age' film without being criticized as'cliched'.'The Kings of Summer' is written, directed, and produced by'men-boys', and I assume it is precisely a bunch of men/boys they are trying to attract.
I still remember in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Professor McGonagall told her pupils that "boys are like lions ready to prey; girls are like flowers, gracefully waiting to be awaken'. Well, this film, like I said is about men, made by men and enjoyed by men. I can almost imagine the process of script-writing and production, how much fun they were having.
The film is about'escaping into the wild and become a man of his own', and it is also about'girls being bitches destroying male bonding'. Don't get me wrong here. I really enjoyed the film and its vibrant soundtrack and gorgeous cinematography, however it is the underlying philosophy which those film-makers assume would work that I am objecting.
There are a great number of stories about escaping the phony adult world or some unbearable families in which from the child point of view, everything his (normally his because girls escaping into the world are just too unconvincing) parents do triggers more anger within him. The only way to be a man of his own is to run away, into the wild, without taking any responsibilities. To build a tree house (in this case, a real fucking house with basket ball ring, a slide and a mailbox) are the dream-comes-true experience for many men/boys. In the end, it is the gloominess and restrains of the adult world these boys are trying to run away from. This become a dream so deeply buried in their subconscious, and you can often hear them saying'if I could be a boy again'.And this is also why there are all kinds of movies about a bunch of guys doing ridiculous stuff just trying to reminisce their boyhood.
The film really got me upset when Joe told Patrick, while sipping beer on the hills, "now all we need is a soft hand." It followed by Patrick teasing: "Oh we got Biaggio." It cheaply plays with the sexuality of Biaggio as he once told Joe that he thought he doesn't have a gender and when Biaggio finally'came out' to Joe that he thought he is'gay' his definition/symptom of'gayness' clearly resembles what TB might be diagnosed.
The character of Kelly is the one who really pisses me off. She is, as many films of the same genre, gorgeously blond and beautiful. Her appearance, as many films of the same genre prompts the mental growth of a man. Kelly is not important in this film. She is the object that breaks the bonding between Joe and Patrick. She is the thing that makes Joe hate Patrick while Patrick hate himself for being in love with the girl. We the brothers fight, and when Joe calls her ' bitch', she is helpless and desperately begging for forgiveness. She can't do anything but leave. It is classy!
Overall, it's a wonderfully script and intelligently made film. I highly recommend it! 7/10
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