The Kings of Summer

Biaggio character alone worth the rental
Moises Arias' character alone makes this movie worthwhile. One of the funniest characters and performances I've seen in a while.

An Entertaining Coming -of-Age Comedy
THE KINGS OF SUMMER is an entertaining coming-of-age movie, reminiscent of STAND BY ME, but with a lighter touch.

Joe (Nick Robinson), Patrick (Gabriel Basso) and Biaggio (Moises Arias) are a trio of Mid-West teens who have decided to flee their parents. Joe's dad (Nick Offerman) is a wisecracking, insensitive "s.o.b.". Patrick's folks (Megan Mullally, Marc Evan Jackson) are on the "creepy" side, and, except for one brief scene, we don't really meet Biaggio's parents, but he's a bit "weird," so that should tell us something.

The truth is that, from a teenager's standpoint, all parents are insensitive, creepy and/or weird.

In an ultimate act of independence, the three boys decide to spend their summer building a ramshackle house in the woods and living off the land. The house goes up amazingly fast, and while the parents and the police (led by Mary Lynn Rajskub) search for them, the teens have a great time. The adventure, however, turns south when...

Great Comedy; So-So Drama
There are moments where it's difficult to pinpoint just what kind of film KINGS OF SUMMER wants to be. The heart of the plot is dramatic: several young boys, annoyed with their families, run away from home to be independent only to find their goals thwarted by a painfully formulaic love triangle. However, the cast is weighted with heavy comedic talent (everyone from Nick Offerman to Hannibal Burress makes an appearance, including a few lesser known names from multiple sketch shows and comedy troops). There's a whole lot of silliness going on, especially in the character of Bellagio (that's probably not how you spell his name; he's one of our runaways, the weirdest and least grounded in reality of the three boys), which makes the movie feel like it's going for a nonsensical level of humor. The two halves aren't so bad, but mixed together, they tend to come across as uneven.

In spite of the fairly predictable plot points, the movie's glut of musical montages, and its...

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