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October 12, 2006

Kicking and Screaming (1995) - 7

No, this is not the hilarious Will Ferrell film where he coaches his son's little league soccer team. This film actually came out ten years earlier and is written and directed by Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Mr. Jealousy, co-writer of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou). It reminded me of Richard Linklater's films Slacker and a little of Waking Life for its focus on deep conversations (minus the animation) and loosely to Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. The film follows four college friends after they graduate from college and stick around town and try to figure out what to do with there lives. The main character, Grover, sees his girlfriend leave him to study in Prague, and each of them goes in and out of relationships on the search for fulfillment. What they come to realize is that life is meant to be lived, experiences, and learned from. In some ways this film is a precursor to The Last Kiss, although with more subtle choices. Like most of Baumbach's films it is rather academic (which means I like it) and mostly engages the questions of abstractions as they relate to relationships and life. The film is heavy on conversations where characters are just standing around or sitting around a table. Not an action film, but a thoughtful one.

2 comments:

Paul said...

Yeah, I've been trying to get 'flix to send me this one for some time, but it's always reading that it'll be a short wait. I'm starting to like the guy's work, having finally seen more than just The Squid and the Whale (though all that means is that I've seen Life Aquatic, too), and I too am catching the Linklater vibe. Which, normally, means that I'll like it.

Evan said...

I loved this as well.

Chris Eigeman is a woefully underhired actor.