Review of The Kings of Summer (2013) by Thomas W — 10 Dec 2013

Longtime best buds Joe (Nick Robinson -- Jurassic World) and Patrick (Gabriel Basso - Super 8) are planning the perfect summer adventure: they will live in and off of the woods in a makeshift shelter and provide everything needed for the other's survival as the duo have extensively studied guidebooks on nature and survival skills so they can capture, kill or identify the area's avian population and also know how many venomous snakes live in a twelve mile radius.

It is safe to say that the boys aren't going to win any popularity awards at school in the upcoming fall semester -- which they are both fine with -- and they have also learned the in's and out's of the survival game: "To Eat or Not To Eat?".

These boys are prepared for anything that nature will throw at them ... that is "except when a living (!) third boy enters the forest" (Moises Arias - Despicable Me 2) and wants to follow their example and join their ranks.

When it is a girl who breaches their humble abode the second time around (!!!) it almost turns to war as the two best friends appear to like her in equal measure and the boys end up learning more about life and each other than they even believed possible.

Meddling parents only factor into the film a small amount ... but to hilarious effect (thanks to Park & Rec's Nick Offerman and his real-life hilarious wife, Megan Mullally) as The Kings of Summer stays more loyal to the Kings of Summer .

.. and not their entourages. It is a nice and rather simple coming of age film.