Review: The Kings of Summer ★★★★

During The Kings of Summer, you could almost be forgiven for experiencing déjà vu. Jonathan Vogt-Roberts’ inaugural feature film feels a lot like Stand By Me, arguably the best of the ‘coming of age’ genre. This is far from negative and The Kings of Summer is a wonderfully well-intentioned film with a strong comedic script.

The film follows the efforts of two teenage boys, Joe (Nick Robinson) and Patrick (Gabriel Basso), who are desperate to escape their overbearing parents. Together with Biaggio (Moises Arias), they descend onto a wooded plain and construct a house so well crafted that you wonder whether the lads are qualified architects. Nevertheless, the film’s implausibility is forgiven as part of its endearing whimsy.

The acting performances from the three boys are fantastic: their comic timing is excellent, and they perfected the ‘Superbad dynamic’ of two nerdy friends and one complete nutcase. The exceptionally strange and offbeat performance of Arias as Biaggio, the boy whose background we know little about, is hopefully a sign of great things to come. It is the spectacularly brusque Nick Offerman (of Parks and Recreation fame) who is gifted the vast majority of the best lines, however, and no one can begrudge him that as he delivers them flawlessly, no thanks to his years of practice as Ron Swanson.  

As the film progresses and cracks begin to form in their utopia, the boys’ emancipation becomes less and less attractive. The comedy dries up a little in this final third and it begins to take itself quite seriously but it is so funny in the earlier parts of the film that it should be allowed a little self-indulgence.

The Kings of Summer is a well-made film with a great heart, and the tranquility that transcends the film is no doubt down to Vogt-Roberts wonderful direction. He uses some lovely wildlife montages to portray the utopia that the boys have found themselves in, and a great amount of slow-motion to keep the pace of the film to a meander; what some people argue as too much, I thoroughly enjoyed. The soundtrack also does the film a lot of favours with a summer vibe that lends itself perfectly to the story.

Vogt-Roberts’ film is a testament to all indie comedy and to coming of age films, of which it is one of the best since Stand By Me. This is a film to treasure for this generation.