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Movies / On DVD / 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

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

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Kicking and Screaming

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Robert Duvall is superb (his love of football is well-documented) and seems to really enjoy playing a comic variation of his sports-obsessed father in the classic The Great Santini.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/15/05
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Ferrell's a funny guy, that much is true, and his frequent adlibbing is always preferable to the scripted humour he delivers, but he's just not right to lead a film like this.

Full Review Source: FilmFocus | comment Comment
07/25/05
Joe Utichi
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus

Sounds bad, doesn't it?

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

... 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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's nothing remotely original in this goofy kids' sports movie, but at least the script adds a refreshingly funny zing.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
06/04/05
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Is this all there is to Ferrell’s career? Mediocre comedies, and wasted talent?

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

Director Jesse Dylan, desperate to avoid yawns, flails madly with staging, editing, slow motion -- any trick he can think of, whether it fits or works or not.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

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

Will Ferrell has become the most unlikely embodiment of wholesome family fun since Fred MacMurray gave up film noir for My Three Sons.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
08/16/07
Stephen Garrett
Stephen Garrett
Time Out New York

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

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

Mostly useless

Full Review Source: sbs.is | comment Comment
02/01/06
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is

Will Ferrell cria um personagem carismático a partir de um roteiro burocrático e, no processo, consegue divertir e levar o espectador a se envolver com a história.

comment Comment
12/25/05
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

... Kicking & Screaming is not very good.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Pete Vonder Haar
Pete Vonder Haar
Film Threat

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

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)

This isn't the worst setup for a kiddie comedy, but it proves that Ferrell alone can't carry a film.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
Keith Phipps
Keith Phipps
AV Club

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

Iron Mike is phenomenal! Kicking and Screaming is not.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
06/28/05
Uri Lessing
Uri Lessing
eFilmCritic.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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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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