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Movies / Upcoming / Kicking and Screaming
Kicking and Screaming

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Kicking and Screaming (2005)

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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

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Reviews for Kicking and Screaming

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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There are a few broad laughs and Ferrell is everything you would expect him to be – irritating, occasionally amusing and sometimes inspired

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/30/05
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Relatively harmless fun, although it does make you wish Ferrell would do more risky, rule-bending work.

Full Review Source: Premiere Magazine | comment Comment
05/13/05
Kevin Allison
Kevin Allison
Premiere Magazine

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.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
10/20/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

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.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
09/26/06
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

... a rather schizophrenic movie; groaningly familiar around the edges but with a pair of frighteningly unpredictable monsters at the centre.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
07/12/05
Paul Arendt
Paul Arendt
BBC

It never quite takes off.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
05/12/05
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

If you're into Will Ferrell.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
05/13/05
Malene Arpe
Malene Arpe
Toronto Star

Kids-and-sports films are usually a hit-and-miss, but here the combination is funny, irreverent and, thankfully, not condescending.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
05/16/05
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

Even a soccer-savvy audience has better things to do -- like instilling unsportsmanlike behavior in their kids or sabotaging rival teams.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
05/13/05
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News

Most of the time, [the kids] go along. Most of the time we do, too.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
05/13/05
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

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.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
05/11/05
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

The sort of almost-there family movie for which half-stars exist in ratings.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
05/13/05
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post

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.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
05/13/05
Kit Bowen
Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com

Kicking & Screaming succeeds because it understands its target audience, refraining from playing it too cute or crude. Though predictable, it's well executed.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
09/25/06
Russ Breimeier
Russ Breimeier
Christianity Today

An immensely likable if somewhat toothless family film in which even the notorious Mike Ditka comes across as a stuffed panda bear.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
05/18/05
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Rather shakily directed by Jesse (son of Bob) Dylan, who possibly knows something about larger-than-life fathers.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
05/13/05
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

Something happens halfway through the movie: star Will Ferrell cuts loose...Suddenly, we're in a cauldron of blood and coffee and Gatorade.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
05/12/05
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

Kicking & Screaming seems to be exactly what you’d expect - a Bad News Bears with soccer moms.

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
05/13/05
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

Kicking & Screaming will keep Ferrell’s fans in line and probably families in even longer ones.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
05/12/05
Erik Childress
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com

If anyone tries to get you to go to Kicking & Screaming, do just that.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
05/12/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

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: Box Office Wrapup: Will Ferrell Scores His First #1 Opening with Talladega Nights
Comedy superstar Will Ferrell scored his first-ever number one opening in a lead role with the stronger-than-expected debut of his latest hit Talladega Nights: The Ballad of... More...

May 25, 2006: Box Office Preview: X-Men 3 Ready to Rock Memorial Day Weekend
Wolverine, Professor X, and the rest of their soul patrol will launch a full-scale attack on the North American box office this weekend as the gargantuan comic book film X-Men:... More...

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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