The Kings of Summer

It is difficult to like a film that goes out of its way to ridicule every one of its characters at pretty much every chance it gets. The Kings of Summer is a potentially interesting coming-of-age movie about three kids who run away from home, build a house in the woods, and attempt to be masters of their own fate. This is not a very realistic premise so I guess it falls into the fantasy genre, but it is written and directed like satire. I’m not sure what it’s a satire of; middle class life? suburbia? adolescence? Maybe it’s a parody of Stand By Me.  The filmmakers seem much more interested in getting laughs from their highly exaggerated characters than in getting to the heart of any of the story’s potentially rich themes. Make no mistake--this film is funny. I laughed many times while watching it.  But by the halfway point I lost patience with both the movie and its characters. The film avoids taking any risks and comes across primarily as a missed opportunity.