There are a few broad laughs and Ferrell is everything you would expect him to be – irritating, occasionally amusing and sometimes inspired
Kicking and Screaming (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:135
Fresh:56
Rotten:79
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: The script is mediocre and fails to give Ferrell a proper comedic showcase.
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Genre: Childrens
US Box Office: $52,580,895
Synopsis: Funny man Will Farrell's humorous man-child antics meet actual kids on this soccer comedy. As vitamin salesman Phil Weston, Farrell's a sensitive man easily capable of both crying and sewing.... Funny man Will Farrell's humorous man-child antics meet actual kids on this soccer comedy. As vitamin salesman Phil Weston, Farrell's a sensitive man easily capable of both crying and sewing. Unfortunately for Phil, these qualities have never quite endeared him to his tough-as-nails father, Buck (Robert Duvall), who will stop at nothing to one-up Phil. He goes so far as benching Phil's 10-year-old son--his own grandson--on the youth soccer team he coaches. When Phil begs for more playing time for the boy, Buck trades his grandson to the last-place team, the Tigers. Not just any normal cellar-dwelling outfit, the Tigers feature a cast of lovable losers who prefer eating worms and telling jokes to playing soccer. When the Tigers' coach leaves, putting the season on the line, an inexperienced Phil steps in to helm his son's new team. With help from Buck's neighbor and rival, real-life football coach Mike Ditka--hilariously playing himself--the Tigers turn their season around. Fueled by a raging caffeine habit, Phil starts to be overly obsessed with beating Buck, losing sight of why he took the job in the first place--to be a better dad to his own son. Director Jesse Dylan (AMERICAN WEDDING) is a natural for the storyline, being famed musician Bob Dylan's son. Farrell, for once, is content to play straight man to the crazy tykes in the first half of the film, before he unleashes his trademark zaniness. Those attributes alone, along with fun-loving family themes, make KICKING & SCREAMING a treat for fans both young and old. [More]
Starring: Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall, Mike Ditka, Kate Walsh
Starring: Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall, Mike Ditka, Kate Walsh, Musetta Vander, Josh Hutcherson, Dylan McLaughlin
Director: Jesse Dylan
Director: Jesse Dylan
Screenwriter: Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick
Producer: Jimmy Miller
Composer: Mark Isham
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for Kicking and Screaming
Relatively harmless fun, although it does make you wish Ferrell would do more risky, rule-bending work.
Kicking and Screaming feels as if it were callously vomited out by a machine, along with a couple of spare parts and some putrid grease.
The picture is a little about soccer, a little about parenting, and a lot about laughing. Mike Ditka shows up and delivers a kick-butt performance.
... a rather schizophrenic movie; groaningly familiar around the edges but with a pair of frighteningly unpredictable monsters at the centre.
Kids-and-sports films are usually a hit-and-miss, but here the combination is funny, irreverent and, thankfully, not condescending.
Even a soccer-savvy audience has better things to do -- like instilling unsportsmanlike behavior in their kids or sabotaging rival teams.
Most agonizing is the sting of watching Ferrell, after (his) witty performances in Elf and Melinda & Melinda, revert to the same old one-note, dim-bulb clowning.
The sort of almost-there family movie for which half-stars exist in ratings.
With Will Ferrell infusing his comic brilliance into the proceedings, at least you know you won't be dragged out of the theater Kicking & Screaming.
Kicking & Screaming succeeds because it understands its target audience, refraining from playing it too cute or crude. Though predictable, it's well executed.
An immensely likable if somewhat toothless family film in which even the notorious Mike Ditka comes across as a stuffed panda bear.
Rather shakily directed by Jesse (son of Bob) Dylan, who possibly knows something about larger-than-life fathers.
Something happens halfway through the movie: star Will Ferrell cuts loose...Suddenly, we're in a cauldron of blood and coffee and Gatorade.
Kicking & Screaming seems to be exactly what you’d expect - a Bad News Bears with soccer moms.
Kicking & Screaming will keep Ferrell’s fans in line and probably families in even longer ones.
If anyone tries to get you to go to Kicking & Screaming, do just that.
Latest News for Kicking and Screaming
March 29, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Will Ferrell Goes for the Gold
Two promising new comedies target different age groups and look to close off a red hot March box office with strong opening weekend sales. More...
August 07, 2006:
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May 25, 2006:
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February 13, 2006:
Trailer Bulletin: Talladega Nights
For those of us who loved "Anchorman" and semi-suffered through "Kicking & Screaming," "Bewitched," and "The Producers" while waiting... More...
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