Kids
April 22nd 2008 05:06
When the movie came out it was considered pretty radical. An urban nightmare wake-up call for adults. I found it both disturbing and compelling. The pseudo-documentary look and feel of it, the use of non-professional actors in many of the roles, and the raw depiction of the adolescents’ attitude toward sex, these elements made Kids a very potent attack on any kind of moral complacency evident in adult audiences.
Watching the movie again twelve years later was interesting. The movie hasn’t changed, but my opinion of it has. The film’s “fuck you” attitude has softened considerably. It’s still a difficult film to deal with in that the lead male characters are obnoxious and objectionable. Their arrogance still permeates the movie. But the movie feels much more contrived than when I first watched it. It feels engineered to annoy.
Justin Pierce as Casper and Leo Fitzpatrick as Telly
Chloe Sevigny as Jennie
Rosario Dawson as Ruby
The rest of the movie alternates between Telly and Casper fooling around, including robbing a convenience store, a detailed rolling of a large Philly blunt in Washington Square Park, the aforementioned lynching, and ending up at a debauched house party, and Jennie getting fucked up on pills and trying to find moments of escape (ie floating around Tunnel nightclub). Jennie eventually finds her way to the house party only to walk in on Telly humping away on young Darcy (Yakira Peguero) barely in her teens. She falls into a deeper funk and passes out on the sofa only to have Casper take advantage of her dark slumber and rape her amidst numerous comatose bodies lying prone from excessive partying.
The art of rolling a Philly blunt of skunk
Telly in film's icky opening scene with Girl #1 (Sarah Henderson)
The best things about Kids are Eric Edwards vibrant cinematography, the debut performances of Chloe Sevigny and Rosario Dawson, and the original jangly guitar work of grunge legend Lou Barlow and John Davis.
I haven’t seen Ken Park, but I’ve seen Bully. Larry Clark is a talented director, but Kids isn’t the classic date stamp I thought it might end up as (and it'll put you off pashing for a while ...)
Here's the theatrical trailer;
And just to be contentious here's the blunt rolling scene:
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Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
I am not a fan of film that are low budget and try to shock or push the boundaries. They seem to date quickly and only have a following from middle aged hippies trying to recapture their defining moments in life. Yet when the shock value is gone many of these movies really suck.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Jason King
Salty Popcorn
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
rosario dawson and chloe sevigny are easily the coolest american women in film these days, its interesting that they both got their break in the same film!
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I was very impressed with Kids at the cinema and have eagerly awaited a DVD release....your review makes it even more paramount I revisit the film in hindsight....for the record Bully is Larry Clark's best work IMO and still leaves me in awe after viewing.
Comment by tlcorbin
Coffee Quip
A Global Citizen
Paranormal Paranormal
Is Why
Alaska Chronicle
Sleezer's World
Raven
Comment by Undercover Brother
I met him once, he was a good guy and a great skater.
RIP
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
that's the beauty of watching movies ... they don't change, but you do.
Undercover Brother, yeah I discovered that when checking the cast list ... Shame, he had potential. I wonder why he did it?
Comment by Eccie83
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile