Boys in the wood.
What happens to high school boys fed up of living with their parents? Joe Toy (Nick Robinson) is about to find out. Tired of living with his bitter, widowed father (Nick Offerman), Joe pitches an idea to his best friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso), who’s having his own parental issues: What if they built a house in the woods and lived off the land? After some consideration, they quickly gather up wood, canned goods, and an eccentric friend (Moises Arias) to construct a house, live in the wild, and learn what it means to become a man.
The film boasts a fairly large cast of heavy-hitting comedy actors: Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Mark Evan Jackson, and Alison Brie all show off their comedic chops as the “adult” voices. But like the construction in the film, the heavy lifting comes down to the trio of teenage boys.
As characters, they could be read as bland or unconvincing, but the three actors manage to bring them to a more relatable level. Their performances are earnest, if somewhat lacking in the nuance achieved by their older peers, but provide a believable window into the evolution of a teenager stuck in a slightly unbelievable tale.
Young boys running away from familial responsibilities is nothing original, but the film seeks to make up for that in heart. The relationship between Joe and his father balances itself between an awkwardly realistic portrayal of two people suffering a loss in their lives and your run of the mill, sarcastic, familial jabs.
It’s indicative of the larger goal “Kings of Summer” tries to accomplish: blending comedic moments with a heartfelt coming of age tale, while staying a level above that of a sap-fest. In that regard, it bites off a bit more than it can chew. It has its moments of comedy, heartbreak, and growing up, but it doesn’t quite pack enough of an emotional punch to put it in a league of its own; the result is a bit of an unfocused film that changes gears faster than it can keep up with itself.
It feels like the movie can’t quite muster up the same strength Joe and his friends do to stake out some unclaimed territory in the realm of self-discovery. “Kings of Summer” is beautifully shot and has welcomed authenticity, but is ultimately a very safe look at teens and the problems they face growing up.
In the end, it’s a sweet, well-intentioned movie about a boy coming to terms with the world, and re-establishing a relationship with his gruff father. It’s well acted and pleasant enough that audiences might not care to remember its foibles, but it won’t be remembered as the height of coming of age tales.
Verdict: It’s got a charming personality, but its reign won’t last long past summer.
Pulp Diction 