WATCH NOW
As I was watching “Kicking & Screaming” the latest movie featuring Will Ferrell, I kept saying to myself, “This movie could have easily starred Adam Sandler.” The film revolves around a man, Phil Weston (Ferrell), who was raised by a father, Buck,(played by Robert Duvall) who is the “most competitive man alive.” He makes it a point to outdo his son in everything and even when his son gets put on sports teams, he spends all of his time on the bench. This naturally results in an insecure, repressed adult who does end up marrying some woman, has a child, and operates a vitamin shop (as opposed to his father who owns five sports equipment stores).
A few years later his son is now playing soccer for his grandfather’s team along with his grandfather’s youngest son (from his marriage to a MUCH younger woman). Naturally, Phil’s son is still stuck riding the bench while Buck’s son shines as the star of the team. The young man gets “traded” by his grandfather to the worst team and to Phil Weston’s surprise, he coaches the team.
A lot of these moments seem tailor-made for Sandler…almost every one of his performances could have been used in this context. There is the humanized repression he showed in “Punch-Drunk Love” (wherein his character is emotionally repressed), his great chemistry with children (as in Big Daddy and Billy Madison), his being a total jerk (like in Happy Gilmore), well, the list is endless. Now, don’t get me wrong… it’s not like Ferrell fails here. Not at all. He does seem to enjoy the role quite a bit… At any rate, the film is barely a “B” and an argument could be made that it is a “C” movie. This film would have greatly benefited from Sandler’s explosiveness combined with the ability to turn on a dime into sheer sincerity. Instead, “Kicking & Screaming” tends to feel like a scattershot, though at times amusing, family, competition, and the typical parenting film with the “what really counts” message that always seems to exist in children’s sports movies.
Ferrell is simply most effective when sympathetic. While some of…the scenes where he morphs into his father are meant to be funny, they are stiff and not very appealing. He’s not all that convincing, and, unlike in Elf, in which he went all out in the character and the context of the film, it is as though he was overly cautious throughout the film. At most, I was in an almost constant state of about to break into a fit of laughter only to have the scene cut out.
Although Ferrell has done a good job, it is rather routine. I am not used to Ferrell being so safe, which is why he has disappointed me with the film…Unfortunately, it appears that Ferrell is succumbing to “Denzel” syndrome. With Denzel, he has a trademark finger motion, while Ferrell has adopted the phrase “Owwww, you’re hurting me,” which he uses in three of his films. As bad as it is that there is a phrase that is a big part of his movie, it is worse that the lines are delivered in the same manner in all these films. Surely, I cannot be the only one who has noticed this.
Typically, the essence of the character is lacking in such a way, and so, favorite actors are left utterly unengaged, passive even. One of my favorites, Robert Duvall, is just a caricature of a crazed winning obsessed dad…He does shift toward the end, but it is so little development that it doesn’t mean anything. The casting of Mike Ditka as Duvall’s neighbor and rival was clever. Although it is a great performance, he seems to just lose interest in the role partway through and stop.
“The Bad News Bears” is the first thing that comes to mind when I see the group of children that make up the team. To put it simply, it is a strange collection of boys that consists of a punk, a brain, a kid who eats worms, the only African American kid in class, and the son of a lesbian couple,…you get the idea.
Most of the movie is actually good because, as broken as it all is, most of the time it is humorously amusing and cute. Ferrell, even when he is at his worst, tends to elicit a certain level of innocence and charm from the characters he plays. This works for him in this case, and even though the movie is painfully predictable, it still makes for quite a delightful ride.
Kicking & Screaming has solid production value and a great soundtrack. It lacks the charm of Elf, the “over-the-topness” of Old School, and the order of Anchorman. Nonetheless, it was apparent that the many families present in the viewing enjoyed it, and it is a decent watch for the family. Will Ferrell’s new movie is a mediocre watch filled with laughs that makes me yearn for a great Sandler and wonder how such a good comedy could have gone terribly.
For More Movies Like Kicking & Screaming Visit on 123Movies.
Also Watch more movies like: 123movies.
