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
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.
If this footy film was in a league it would be languishing at the bottom of the Vauxhall Conference.
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
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.
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.
There are some funny moments, mostly with the kids, but a lot of this comedy falls as flat as a deflated soccer ball.
[Ferrell's] humor is cut off at the knees by sloppy editing, a tedious pace and an underwhelming payoff.
Gets the job done for its core audience of tots%u2014and for no one else.
A good script is the most essential ingredient for a good movie. Hiring a comedian isn't enough.
Ferrellman doesn't so much adjust to the adult world around him as he makes it bend to his stubborn, outrageous will.
Dylan has to rely on Ferrell's manic energy to keep Kicking & Screaming a step ahead of Ladybugs in the youth soccer movie pantheon.
Dylan ... favors loud sound, loud images, loud everything -- only the laughs are muted.
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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