Kicking and Screaming

Apparently, I watched "Kicking and Screaming" at the perfect time -- not even a month after graduating college. Still, I don't find myself identifying with its characters or empathizing with their struggles other than the basic "I wish I didn't have to leave." Granted graduating college is different now than it was in the 1990s, but if this film were truly very good, it would resonate with college graduates of all generations. The problem is that as sharp, witty and original as the dialogue is, it's unnatural and it pushes us toward nothing.

Fans of dialogue in film, particularly the avant garde approach, will probably be quick to love this film debut from writer/director Noah Baumbach. He manages to write a lot of dialogue that we all think but never actually speak aloud (admirable), it's all quite clever (funny or at least amusing) but his characters like to talk a lot about what they do, which in this movie is nothing (boring). College graduates and friends Grover, Max, Skippy and Otis, all played by no-name actors basically decide to spend their first year post-graduation back at school because they are to afraid to leave. Skippy's girlfriend Miami is still a student so he stays, Otis is scared of moving to Milwaukee, Grover's girlfriend went to Prague, thus dumping him and backing out of their plans to live in Brooklyn together, etc. It's a very indie take on a coming of age story.

If it hasn't been made apparent, there's a lot of talking. You'll like a lot of what you hear and you'll be bored by a lot of it. People just generally don't talk this way, which helps the movie avoid cliché, making it fresh and funny, but also alienates the audience at times. At times I told myself I kind of liked it, at others I wondered what the point was. There is some definite intention behind everything Baumbach does, but he communicates this intention in ways most people won't grasp and it all comes across pointless. Plus, either Baumbach never communicates the reason for the title or I missed it because I wasn't totally paying attention. With so much dialogue, everything Baumbach really wants the audience to understand he must have spoken aloud and so rather than discovering meaning, it comes in the form of explanation.

"Kicking and Screaming" is an experiment, an artsy film that some will love just for being artsy and others will find boring for being exactly that way. Baumbach's writing shows promise, but it also has the potential to fail miserably.

There's a lot of angsting and whining in this movie that I didn't relate to when I was an optimistic college student, but now that I too am joining the ranks of the confused and unemployed post-graduate, I look upon its memory more fondly.

Eric Stoltz is very amusing as the eternal student/bartender. A friend of mine is particularly fond of the Otis character, the clown of the film and a master of deflated monosyllabic responses (check the same actor out in Mr. Jealousy - he has wonderful mastery of the trapped upperclass dork). Josh Hamilton does a great job expressing idealized romantic yearning, especially in the last scene of the film, which I won't give away but which is familiarly and achingly bittersweet.

If you're a stickler for realism you might say to yourself, "Yeah right, like these people just graduated from college, they're all in their 30s." If you're the type that can look past the fact that Olivia D'Abo played an 18 year old 10 years ago on The Wonder Years then you'll be OK.

(And if you like Josh Hamilton and Parker Posey, check out House of Yes)

When I came across this film, I initially had no idea it was directed by Noah Baumbach. At first is rather difficult to immerse yourself in what is going on inside the screen, because there is no context whatsoever, only dialogue coming from obnoxious pseudo-intellectual grad students. It is definitely a low start, but Baumbach takes the steer and lets his characters breathe a little, with interaction in small doses among only a few other characters. Their relationships start growing and we finally get a sense of their context, not just time and place but also how everyone relates to one another and how do they feel specifically about youth, growing up, responsibilities and the future. It is only at the middle where things actually get interesting; the handling of dialogue is not great by any sort, but moderate, although not that interesting to begin with.

The characters overall are not very likeable, they all have their issues but it's hard to sympathize with any of them, because they are selfish and self-centered among other disruptive qualities. So, two of this films most important elements such as the writing and the characters try to sustain the film that ultimately fails to deliver a satisfying product.

Nevertheless, it's an acceptable effort from Noah Baumbach, but he has many better outlets than this.

KICKING AND SCREAMING (1995) **** Josh Hamilton, Olivia d' Abo, Chris Eigeman, Parker Posey, Eric Stoltz, Jason Wiles, Carlos Jacott, Cara Buono. To label this the perfect Generation X film so far would do an injustice to this exceptionally brilliant and dead accurate depiction of twentysomethings embarking upon The Real World and grasping futilely to remain in their comfortable existence at college. More like an update of "Diner" with five college pals griping, searching and dealing with their recent shift of reality with some truly biting dialogue and wholly believeable sequences. Written and directed by Noah Baumbach (who has a cameo in the "cow f***er" exchange). Perfect.

KICKING AND SCREAMING is one of the few indie talkathon pictures worth seeing. It is extremely funny, well-written, and perfectly executed by its cast. It also displays the magical talent of a man who goes by the name of Stoltz. Yes, all the perfect ingredients. And only one way to see it--after graduation.

Ted's Grade: A-