| Overall Grade: |
B- |
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| Story: |
B- |
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| Acting: |
B |
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| Direction: |
C+ |
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| Visuals: |
C+ |
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In seven words or less: Will Ferrell with kids
by jmart0072007 (movies profile)
Dec 19, 2006
19
of
34 people found this review helpful
If you are expecting something more than that, you are not going to like this film. That's what I was expecting out of this movie, but I thought the film felt somewhat rushed. It's 90 minutes long and it feels it.
Kicking and Screaming is about a guy named Phil Weston (Will Ferrell), who has spent his entire life as a bench warmer, mostly because of his dad (Robert Duvall) who has to win at everything. This includes benching his grandson during a soccer game. Phil doesn't like seeing his child being benched, like any normal father would, so when he goes to question his father, he is quickly informed that things will changed. Not that he will start playing him, but that he has been traded to the Tigers.
Due to reasons not clearly explained (And it didn't have to be) the coach has disappeared and someone has to fill-in. Enter Phil. The problem is though The Tigers suck and he doesn't know how to control them. So he calls on Mike Ditka, who happens to be next door neighbors to Phil's father. The two also happen to hate each other because Ditka keeps blowing leaves into his yard.
You can pretty much figure out the plot from here. Ditka, Ferrell and two Italian children who are very good at soccer (Okay you probably didn't see that coming) turn the team around and they begin to win. With winning though, Ferrell begins to go nuts (Also thanks to coffee). Like his father, he starts to ignore his son and benches him since he is so focused on winning. He also makes a bet on the final game between his team and his fathers team. Guess who wins. Do not expect a Bad News Bears type of ending here.
The plot really isn't anything to focus on in this film. It's all about Will Ferrell and the relationship between himself and his father. It's not really well done, but it gets the point across, and that's all you can ask for in this type of movie.
Another thing the movie doesn't do so well is setup any sort of relationships between himself and the kids. Once again, this is where you shouldn't expect something like the Bad News Bears.
However, the showcase really is for Ferrell to go nuts and be his usually funny-self in the movie. He is very funny all throughout the movie and that's why you should see the film.
I guess I just wanted something more out of this film. I think I went into it expecting something along the lines of The Bad News Bears. Now, even though I didn't get that, I still enjoyed the film quite a bit, thanks to Ferrell. |
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