Review of Kids (2011) by Aby M — 15 Jun 2013

A few weeks ago I watched the movie Kids, directed by Larry Clark and written by Harmony Korine. After hearing all the hype about it, I finally watched it. This movie is about teenagers in New York, and it is basically a day in the life type of film. It follows Telly and Casper, two teenagers living in New York City and their daily lives. This film really gives the viewer an insight into how crazy life is for inner-city teens. It also shows how easily the AIDS virus can spread and is a wake-up call to America's youth. This movie shows what happens to misguided teens. Telly and Casper have little to no parental influence, so they do not know from right to wrong. It has a documentary shooting style, so it makes the viewer think as if the events are actually happening.

What originally turned me onto this movie is that it was and still is very controversial. That is the beauty of this film; it is raw, uncut. Many of the scenes in this film many would find disturbing, such as when Casper, Telly, and friends brutally beat someone who gets in the way of Casper skateboarding. To me, I find these scenes necessary to bring home the deeper meaning of the movie. This movie isn't designed to be an "easy watch". That is what Korine and Clark are trying to do with this film. As I said before, this movie really is a wake-up call to america's youth. As a teen myself, this movie really hit home with me. This film is very much a reality for me and my generation. Kids adresses the problems and dilemmas we face on a daily basis.

The character Telly takes on the role as the antagonist in this movie. He is your stereotypical teen that only thinks about drugs and sex. In the movie Telly has the HIV virus and is spreading it left and right, without anyone's knowledge. Until Jenny, someone who has only slept with Casper gets tested positive for the HIV virus. She then takes the role of the protagonist and tries to stop Telly from spreading the virus even more.

Overall, I would give this movie five stars. I can easily understand why to this day people are still referencing this movie, to Supreme (an extremely high-end urban fashion line) doing a Larry Clark line of Kids inspired tees to Mac Miller (a famous rapper) coming out with a Kids inspired mixtape. The only negative to some would be the matters presented in this movie, such as date rape, drug use, STD's, and sexuality just to name a few. Other than that, this is a great movie that I would highly recommend.