Movie Review: "The Kings of Summer"

The Kings of Summer often feels like the filmmakers had a checklist of all the Indie film cliches that they were ticking off throughout the making-of process, even still The Kings of Summer is a film that manages to carve enough laughs out of its quirkiness to be worth watching.  The story tells the tale of three teenage boys, fed up with their parents, who decide to runaway and build a house in the middle of the woods, living like men.  It's a premise that sets up some truly funny moments, but they're not consistent, partly because, like many Independent films, the film never quite commits to being either a comedy or a drama.  It takes itself very seriously, while still having broadly drawn, immediately comedic characters.  Ultimately, it's a schizophrenic film that will entertain you if you don't shut yourself out, but this Indie aesthetic is starting to wear thin on me.  Had this movie come out ten years ago, it might seem like a revelation, but released now, it just seems like a been there done that scenario.  I'm eager to see something else.

I give The Kings of Summer a C!