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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 rotten rating; 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
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

The sound of Will Ferrell on autopilot.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
05/13/05
E! Online

A so-so family sports comedy that aims a weak satirical kick at the divided soul of the American middle-class dad, as personified by Will Ferrell.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/12/05
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If this footy film was in a league it would be languishing at the bottom of the Vauxhall Conference.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
12/07/07
Amber Wilkinson
Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film

As lazy, bloated and TV-screen- friendly as shameless promos come.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/13/05
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As the coffee-fueled Phil lurches further and further over the edge of soccer coach impropriety, you can sense Ferrell struggling to break through the lame script

Full Review Source: Lowell Sun | comment Comment
05/12/05
Austin O'Connor
Austin O'Connor
Lowell Sun

Kicking & Screaming has an idea, and little more. Well, an idea and Will Ferrell’s slavish comedic devotion. And these days... that’s apparently all you need.

Full Review Source: Now Playing Magazine | comment Comment
05/13/05
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Now Playing Magazine

relies too much on Farrell's shtick and the "ooohh, cute kids" factor, so it doesn't even try in the script department. Insert sports cliche here. Insert sight gag there.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
05/16/05
Brian Mckay
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

There are some funny moments, mostly with the kids, but a lot of this comedy falls as flat as a deflated soccer ball.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
05/13/05
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

[Ferrell's] humor is cut off at the knees by sloppy editing, a tedious pace and an underwhelming payoff.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
05/13/05
Christine James
Christine James
Boxoffice Magazine

Gets the job done for its core audience of tots%u2014and for no one else.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
10/13/05
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

A good script is the most essential ingredient for a good movie. Hiring a comedian isn't enough.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
05/12/05
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Crushingly inept family comedy.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
05/12/05
Connie Ogle
Connie Ogle
Miami Herald

Ferrellman doesn't so much adjust to the adult world around him as he makes it bend to his stubborn, outrageous will.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
05/13/05
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Dylan has to rely on Ferrell's manic energy to keep Kicking & Screaming a step ahead of Ladybugs in the youth soccer movie pantheon.

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
05/21/05
Dan Fienberg
Dan Fienberg
Zap2it.com

Does for soccer what the Royals do for baseball.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
05/16/05
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
eFilmCritic.com

Sounds bad, doesn't it?

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
07/22/05
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Dylan ... favors loud sound, loud images, loud everything -- only the laughs are muted.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
05/13/05
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

...utterly and almost painfully routine.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
05/21/05
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; 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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