Kicking & Screaming (2005)

Nonstop laughs the whole family can enjoy...

I'm a huge fan of Will Ferrell and so I was excited when this movie was released. Although I never got a chance to see it in the theater I rushed to buy the DVD once it was released much to my wife's dismay, since she doesn't share the same love of Ferrell. The greatest thing about this film is that, while Ferrell may have to reign in some of the outlandish remarks that make him so funny in order to keep a lower rating and appeal to children and parents alike, he still maintains the same enthusiasm for his work and delivers a performance that is over the top, hilarious and spontaneous, and one that even my wife found enjoyable. That's probably one of the most commendable traits here. It serves as a really great family sports comedy, appealing to children but also giving the parents something to laugh at.

The film follows Phil Weston as he matches wits with his stubborn and overbearing father Buck. Buck, played by Robert Duvall, has always been disappointed with Phil who never shared his father's love of sports and everything manly. Instead Phil grew up to run a vitamin store, something Buck is somewhat ashamed of. Throughout Phil's life his father always had to be the best, even if that meant trampling his own son down in the process, and now, years later when Phil's son Sammy gets the same treated from his dear old Grandpa, Phil has to take maters into his own hands. He does that by offering to coach the loser team Buck traded Sammy to. Buck is unsupportive but in the end it's the competition between the two Weston men that finally bonds them like they've never been before.

Will Ferrell shines here, with all the quarks and loud mouthed antics that make his more adult oriented fare so entertaining. As Phil ditches his vitamins for coffee he becomes loud, obnoxious and downright out of control and it all adds up to a great deal of fun. Duvall is also effective as Buck. He's rude, mean and at times a downright tyrant. The first time I watched this movie his character actually made me angry. Mike Ditka is actually really funny as himself here. All the children are effective and funny in their own rights as well.

The story is a sweet one at that, showing the importance of letting your children have fun and be themselves, of not adding undue pressure to their success and never allowing your own insecurities and self doubts to ruin your relationship with your child. It shows the good and bad side of competition and the dangers of taking things too far. But, in the end `Kicking and Screaming' is just good old fun and is one that the whole family can enjoy together time and time again. I loved this movie (found it much more entertaining than the `Bad News Bears' remake released around the same time) and highly recommend it. It may not be the best sports comedy out there, but what it lacks in originality it makes up in laughs. July 6, 2007

Go Tigers

Will Ferrell What a Character, this movie is funny as hell. It's just hillarious. I love will funny actor. And lets not forget a legend Robert Duvall wich made the movie even better. Those two have a good chemestrey and the way they compete with each othe in the movie is funny. all in all this movie was great. April 30, 2007

VERY FUNNY FERRELL IS HILARIOUS!

This is another very funny comedy from the "Nut of the Decade" Will Ferrell! ferrell plays the coach of his kids soccer team and he has to go up against his father who happens to be the "all time winning coach of the town" wackiness ensues! April 9, 2007

Some funny moments.

This movie has it's funny moments but it's no Anchorman by any means. The two most funny scenes can be easily found on online video sites so if you've seen those then you've already seen the best parts of the movie. The rest of it doesn't really live up to those. April 6, 2007

Could Have Been Better

This was actually a very good movie, but it could have been better. The problem is that the adult parts were played by extremely talented and experienced actors and so the course of least resistance was taken: Feature the adults and leave the kids in the background. While I'm sure that it is difficult working with child actors, this movie seemed a little unbalanced in that the adults completely over-whelmed the story. For instance, while the relationship between Ferrell's character and Duvall's character got plenty of attention, the relationship between their sons was all but ignored. This was a rather unique situation. Although Ferrel's and Duvall's sons were the same age, one was the brother of Ferrell's character and the uncle of Ferrell's character's son! Again, it's understandable that the easy way out was taken given the immense talent of the adult actors, but it would have been nice if more attention had been paid to the child characters given this unique situation.

Ditka was a lot of fun in this movie, although he basically just played himself. The bonus features that come with the movie are also worth viewing. All in all, I'd give the movie three stars and a wink and I think most people will find it to be an amusing and easy to enjoy comedy, BUT I still feel that it fell short of what it could have been! March 24, 2007

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