Review of Kids (2011) by Spencer S — 24 Jun 2014

In the nineties there was definitely a place for this kind of movie; shocking because it was obviously a true portrayal of what youth culture can be responsible for. It talked about sex, drugs, AIDS, street violence, and rape without a blink of the eye, showing a gritty world we all choose to ignore.

For all those reasons, this is an indie classic that still upends social norms and draws attention to the perverse lives of teenagers. Still, in this day and age most people, after watching this, would say "I've seen worse.

" It may be atrocious, but there are still way worse things in films today than twenty years ago. What Harmony Korine and Larry Clark do get right are the characterizations of the teenagers, and what they say and do.

The mannerisms of Telly, Casper, and Jenny are all spot on and really show the deep emotional complexities of the characters. For that reason this film still resonates for a lot of people, because we see kids doing questionable things, all the while victimizing themselves.

For that reason this film is a good time capsule of skateboarding culture, but also a film that really draws out characters, and shows the vulnerability of kids.