Kicking and Screaming

United States

1995

96 Min

Color

1.85:1

English

Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
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CAST Josh Hamilton, Olivia d'Abo, Chris Eigeman, Parker Posey, Carlos Jacott, Jason Wiles, Cara Buono, Elliott Gould, Eric Stoltz

MUSIC Phil Marshall

New York, Stockholm (American Independents)

Synopsis

Paralyzed by postgraduation ennui, a group of college friends remain on campus, patching together a community for themselves in order to deny the real-world futures awaiting them. Academy Award–nominated screenwriter Noah Baumbach’s hilarious and touching directorial debut was one of the highlights of the American independent film scene of the nineties, speaking directly to a generation of adults-to-be unable to reconcile their hermetic educational experience with workaday responsibility, and posing the eternal question, where do we go from here? Stingingly funny and incisive, Baumbach’s breakthrough features endlessly quotable dialogue, delivered by a stellar ensemble cast. —The Criterion Collection

Director

Noah Baumbach

Baumbach made his writing and directing debut at the age of 26 with Kicking and Screaming (1995), a comedy about four young men who graduate from college and refuse to move on with their lives. The film starred Josh Hamilton, Chris Eigeman, and Carlos Jacott and premiered in 1995 at the New York Film Festival. Baumbach was chosen as one of Newsweek ’s “Ten New Faces of 1996”.

In 1997 he wrote and directed Mr. Jealousy, a film about a young writer so jealous about his girlfriend that he sneaks into the group therapy sessions of her ex-boyfriend to discover what kind of relationship they had. He then co-wrote (under the name Jesse Carter) and directed (under the name Ernie Fusco) the New York-set comedy of manners Highball. He co-wrote The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) with Wes Anderson.

His 2005 film The Squid and the Whale was a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama about his childhood in Brooklyn and the effect… read more

His 2005 film The Squid and the Whale was a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama about his childhood in Brooklyn and the effect of his parents’ divorce on the family in the mid-1980s. The film stars Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney in the parent roles. The Squid and the Whale was a sleeper hit and a critical success, earning Baumbach two awards at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. It also received six Independent Spirit Award nominations, three Golden Globe nominations and the New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review all voted it the year’s best screenplay.

Baumbach wrote and directed the 2007 comedy-drama Margot at the Wedding, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nicole Kidman, Jack Black and John Turturro. In the film, Kidman plays a woman named Margot who spends several days visiting her sister Pauline (Leigh) on the eve of Pauline’s wedding to Black’s character. It was shot in April/May 2006 in Hampton Bays and City Island, Bronx. The film was released in the United States by Paramount Vantage on November 16, 2007.

Baumbach helped to write and direct the short films Clearing the Air and New York Underground which aired on Saturday Night Live. The films were co-written and co-produced by cast-members Fred Armisen and Bill Hader. New York Underground featured Hader as a British rock journalist doing a piece on quirky underground musician Joshua Rainhorne (Armisen has performed as Joshua at numerous live events). Clearing the Air featured Hader, Armisen, and Paul Rudd (who was the guest host for that week) trying to clear the air over a girl they all slept with. Both pieces aired on SNL in the fall of 2008.

Recently, Baumbach co-wrote the screenplay for the film version of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox with Wes Anderson, who directed it using stop-motion technology.

His latest film, Greenberg, was released March 2010, and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.

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DT

14May13

CC#349: If Yi yi captured life at large, Kicking and Screaming captures *my* life at present. Personal resonances (Max, mon amour) aside: ironically, almost sophomoric, as a production artefact of '90s cinema. Or perhaps, that’s merely part of its look: insular sets as the hermetic environment, ostentatious dialogues simply the register in vogue (and still cuttingly sharp), the arrogant haughtiness and jaded dispositions the psychological resistance. In dissection of personality complexes in communal settings, Baumbach stakes his voice.

HKFanatic likes this

Drew

8Jan13

I had utterly forgotten how absolutely hilarious this film was. The dialogue is outstanding, too bad Baumbach never directed anything else as good...

WhatsUpWill

12Jul12

The film needed more Chris Eigeman. But, then again, what film doesn't need more Chris Eigeman?

teratomauteur and Surrender Dorothy like this

ramosbarajas

12Jul12

It's good, it's sweet. The writing is probably the showiest element here, but I feel it doesn't always work. It's not always forced, but it seem like it's trying. Hard. The characters I don't really care for. Maybe because I couldn't distinguish them. They were all too similar. But in the end, it's a good start. I definitely prefer Baumbach's latest work, but this is enjoyable.