Kicking and Screaming (Criterion)
From the Director of "The Squid and the Whale"
Paralyzed by postgraduation ennui, a group of college friends remain on campus, patching together a community for themselves in order to deny the real-world futures awaiting them. Academy Award–nominated screenwriter Noah Baumbach’s hilarious and touching directorial debut was one of the highlights of the American independent film scene of the nineties, speaking directly to a generation of adults-to-be unable to reconcile their hermetic educational experience with workaday responsibility, and posing the eternal question, where do we go from here? Stingingly funny and incisive, Baumbach’s breakthrough features endlessly quotable dialogue, delivered by a stellar ensemble cast.
Member Reviews
Gen X on Film - zaakistan
Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale and Margot at the Wedding) got his breakthrough with this commentary on Generation X.
Four cerebral and snooty college grads move in together following graduation - each one without any direction, employment or an inkling of identity. We watch them moan and groan about each other and life for the next year.
Not quite the depth nor entertainment value his later films have, but enough to make a statement about the his peers and perhaps himself.Oh to be young! - Goodard
I have to admit that I rented this and totally forgot that I saw it years ago. In a way it's not insignificant, the film is forgettable just as the subject of the film is forgettable--at least we wish we could forget this era in our lives. Baumbach is really onto something here, but is not mature (or possibly talented) enough as a filmmaker to pull it off. This film screams out for a remake. Oh and actor Eigeman is at his prime here. Essential for fans of the preppy film sub-genre (Whit Stillman, Wes Anderson).Dripping with "Hippness" - HARRYLIME
There are defiantly people who will like “Kicking and Screaming”…I am not one of those people. It’s not that the movie is absolutely horrible, it’s not even a bad movie; it’s just that it’s too “hip” for me.
Kicking and Screaming starts with a group of University students celebrating their graduation. They sit around discussing what to do next. For the first ten minutes or so I thought I wasn’t going to make it through to the end. But it lets go of some of the unbearable “highbrow” references, and settles down into the story of postgraduate hang over.
Some of the performances are good, some are not so good, and some are downright terrible. There truly are some unbearable moments in this film. One example is at the very beginning, at the party, when the main character (Grover) and his girlfriend are having an argument. They’re not having an argument you or I have with our girlfriend’s, they’re having a hip university version of the argument we have, carefully written from a twenty something’s point of view. The actors are so stiff and unnatural in that scene it’s uncomfortable to watch.
There are some really great scenes though, and some very funny characters as well. Parker Posey (someone please tell me why she isn’t in more movies) plays a girl named Miami, she is dating one of the postgraduate slackers. Her character is one of the bright spots in the movie. There is one scene in particular that almost makes the movie worth a watch. She tells her boyfriend that she cheated on him, and then tries to kick him out of her room. Posey is so sexy and funny in that scene. She reminds me of Jean Arthur for some reason, except how Jean Arthur would be now, like a modern Jean Arthur.
I’m a fan of Baumbach’s other films, at least the ones I’ve seen. “The Squid and the Whale” was great, and I’m the only one I know who enjoyed “Margo at the Wedding.” The latter of the two I enjoyed immensely, but “Kicking and Screaming” feels immature compared.
Member Reviews
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Gen X on Film - zaakistan
Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale and Margot at the Wedding) got his breakthrough with this commentary on Generation X.
Four cerebral and snooty college grads move in together following graduation - each one without any direction, employment or ...Oh to be young! - Goodard
I have to admit that I rented this and totally forgot that I saw it years ago. In a way it's not insignificant, the film is forgettable just as the subject of the film is forgettable--at least we wish we could forget this era in our lives. Baumbach is really ...Dripping with "Hippness" - HARRYLIME
There are defiantly people who will like “Kicking and Screaming”…I am not one of those people. It’s not that the movie is absolutely horrible, it’s not even a bad movie; it’s just that it’s too “hip” for me.
Kicking and Screaming starts with a group ...