Kicking and Screaming

Imagine John Hughes made movies about post-grads who thought far too highly of themselves. That is a gross simplification of Kicking and Screaming. Having stemmed from the mind of Noah Baumbach, famous for his relationship with Wes Anderson and The Squid and The Whale, Kicking and Screaming begins to tackle the question of what to do after you graduate from college.

Films seem to focus on high school as being the end-all, be-all of the coming of age story but Kicking and Screaming argues the far greater freak out moment comes after college when you realize it's really time to grow up now. On the other hand, Kicking and Screaming explores balancing an elitist attitude and the real world.
If you're a fan of witty dialogue, this film would be a great addition to a rainy night and, as a plus, it's STREAMING ON NETFLIX. (Just be prepared to not really like the characters, except for Eric Stoltz, with whom I'm in love.)

Categories of note:
Dialogue: witty, snarky, smart-alec, cynical, bitter, quotable
Plot: I think that it's very subtle, but the way things are revealed in K&S is very clever and meaningful. It also has a great ending.


You Might Like: Other Noah Baumbach movies (The Squid and the Whale is his most famous, but it's very, very heavy/dark), High Fidelity, Wes Anderson films, Singles, Reality Bites

Parent Watchability: approach with caution
There is a little nudity and language but even with that it's not really the type of movie you would watch with family.