Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. We've been getting a fair stream of early reviews for this film for a while. It leads me to believe the studios or the filmmakers are trying to find just the right combination to make this film as good as it can be. Call me an optimist, but I'm pulling for this one to work. I really dig Will Ferrell and he hasn't worn out his welcome for me, yet, so I'm pulling for this to be a fun flick. Keep in mind this is still an incomplete film and as we all know, in comedy timing is everything. The reviews up to this point seem to be around the "it's pretty good" to "it didn't totally work" range.
Hey Harry. This is the second time I am submitting an early review for ainititcool.com. The first was a look at the disaster that was SON OF THE MASK, which thankfully tanked back in February. Well, I’m back, this time with a review of the upcoming Will Ferrell family flick KICKING AND SCREAMING. The print was a rough cut, I’d say about 85% complete. The music was temporary and some of the film was pretty grainy. Other than that, this was a close to final product.
I guess I’ll start with Will Ferrell. There is no denying that he is a talented man. A funny and talented man Lately he has been breaking through the way we saw Jim Carrey do in the early nineties. But after my experience with KICKING AND SCREAMING, I am beginning to worry that he’s turning into a one-trick pony. Take this into consideration: If you’ve seen his movies you know he often does a bit in which he raises his voice in a borderline gay manner. Think of the scene from ELF, “Santa’s coming!” or OLD SCHOOL, “We’re going streaking!” or everything else from DICK to AUSTIN POWERS to ZOOLANDER to JAY AND SILENT BOB to ANCHORMAN. And he especially overdoes it here as a grown adult who decides to coach his sons soccer time in spite of his competitive father (played by a heavily wasted ROBERT DUVALL) who is coaching the opposing team.
Now if you’ve seen a movie that sounds like this than you’ve seen this one too. It starts moves and ends exactly how one might expect it to. The trailer tells all. It is a formulaic family comedy in which an adult deals with their own emotions by coaching a children’s sports team. The only thing that looks promising from the trailer is the presence of Ferrell. But the filmmakers are playing it safe here with a movie we have seen a dozen times before.
In the director’s chair is Jesse Dylan, whose previous credit is the Red-Man/Method Man clunker HOW HIGH. His father is a little known rocker named Bob Dylan. Wow. Between Michael Eisner’s son helming SAHARA and this, Hollywood will never have to look for new talent. They can just place the camera into the hands of the children of people who have already made names for themselves. It’s Michael Eisner’s son! The guy must be talented! Well, I don’t want to break anyone’s heart, but Dylan seems to know nothing about making movies. He films the soccer scenes, and there are a lot of them, like a parent might film their son from the sidelines. *Pay close attention and you’ll see some of the crew kicking back during filming.
The hot shots at Dreamworks are really playing it safe, and by doing so KICKING AND SCREAMING offers nothing fresh and nobody to cheer for. It has its moments and a handful of laughs but they often come from an Asian boy who is about half the size of every other kid on the team. Every time he comes on the screen he upstages everyone, including Ferrell. Another highlight is Mike Ditka (former NFL coach) playing himself in a part that is bigger than you might expect. I wanted to like this movie and I wanted to have a good time, but KICKING AND SCREAMING is so by the numbers that it leaves you feeling cheated and empty.
