A spirited coming-of-age teen-dramedy that was critically well-received but not so well-travelled with general audiences, The Kings of Summer is one of the best Sundance-bait indies to come out in the last few years. Ostensibly a comedy, the story follows three boys who run away from their infuriating parents to go and build their own house in the woods of North Carolina. The film deals with all the tenets of growing-into-manhood, the most notably-relatable portion of the film coming from the girl who comes between the two best friends, Joe (Nick Robinson) and Patrick (Gabriel Basso). Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts laces the whole film with dreamy visuals and a great soundtrack, giving the whole film a nostalgic bent that means it can transcend generations. The star of the show, however, is Moises Arias as weird Italian kid Biaggio. The lad consistently gets huge laughs, a testament to both the writing behind the character and the boy's comedy timing.
Cinephile since 1993, aged 4, when he saw his very first film in the cinema - Jurassic Park - which is also evidence of damn fine parenting. World champion at Six Degrees of Separation. Lender of DVDs to cheap mates. Connoisseur of Marvel Comics and its Cinematic Universe.
