Kicking and Screaming

You go to hell! And while you're there, get me a juice box!

May 23, 2005
A good comedy only comes along once in a blue moon, really. And this, comrades, ... Well. To keep it simple: Just keep walkin'.

Kicking and Screaming stars former SNL star Will Ferrell. Now, this guy's pretty fuckin' funny, mostly in that he's willing to do just about anything regardless of how much of an ass he makes of himself. I respect that.

On the other hand, Kicking and Screaming, which is rated PG and therefore intended for the young'uns, is obviously much tamer than his usual works. Not that this is bad. It just ... could have been better.

Here's the down-low on the story: Phil Weston (Ferrell) is your normal guy; he lives in a nice suburbian neighborhood, has a wife and a son, and runs his own business for a living. But one of Phil's biggest dreams is to one day defeat his father, Buck (Robert Duvall), in something, which isn't such an easy task. Even though his father is an old man.

Opportunity arises when Phil's son is suddenly dumped from his soccer team, which was coached by none other than his grandfather. So, the kid is transferred to this crap team with these pitiful, defective-chromosomed children who can't play worth crap. Plus, they have no coach. And thus, hilarity ensues.

For a while.

So, it's pretty cool to watch the Italian kids play the kind of soccer where they fly into the air like cockroaches. And I do like to see people getting hurt. Who doesn't?

But... honestly, this only amuses me for so long before I start playing with the little lights on my watch.

Ferrell's good in it, though there are some occasions when the camera is just far too close for anyone's good. And Mike Ditka plays ... well, himself. His character was simply unpleasant and constantly yelling, but I think that's the humor of it. Although sometimes I wanted to kick him.

In the end, I think I may've walked in expecting too much. Because, let's face it, this isn't going to win any Oscar. So, don't expect anything except clean, family fun. Or some crap like that. Whatever.

Overall: Will Ferrell will always be funny; Italians play soccer when they're not carving meat; the script was fine, but I think a lot of it was ad-libbed; Mike Ditka needs to be bitchslapped occasionally; some children are hideous while others give the best blank stares; if you choose to watch it, watch it for the wolf scene; lesbians adopt small Asian children; decent film, and not bad enough for you to want to leave the theater a la the title, but a lot was lacking.

And thus, Kicking and Screaming receives two and a half out of five snorts of coke.

Reviewed by Kathy