Review of The Kings of Summer (2013) by Ethan B — 13 Jan 2015

I wish The Kings of Summer had been around when I was in high school--not because I had a bad relationship with my parents, but because it would have been awesome to be inspired to build a house in the woods. I really like this movie. The acting is impressive, the characters are fun to watch grow, and it's really funny. The humor is very unique and a bit surrealist, which is right down my alley.

When it comes down to it, this is a very simple film. It succeeds at inspiring and entertaining all at once--an objective that is usually just aspired to, compromised by one of the two elements. Although their time in the woods isn't terribly eventful, the character development and dialogue is fun to experience.

The pacing is a little irregular, but director Jordan Vogt-Roberts uses it as an advantage. Usually I'm not a huge fan of uneven tone, but in this situation it brings so much charm to the film. However, I do wish that there was a better sense of location. The whole time I wondered where this takes place--I must have blinked once.

The movie does a good job of keeping you on the edge of your seat while using it's uneven tone to its advantage--keeping you thinking that anything can happen next.

There's not a lot about The Kings of Summer that I don't like, except for the fact that it ended too soon.

Twizard Rating: 95.