“Kicking and Screaming” (Universal Pictures)
“Kicking & Screaming” is the kind of movie that makes us wonder if “Elf” was just a fluke. In that film Will Ferrell was warm, funny and enormously entertaining. In everything he has done since that classic, he has been funny and nothing else. That is true again in “Kicking & Screaming.” Ferrell has some funny moments but the overall effect of the film is “so what!”
Ferrell plays Phil Weston, a man who has lived in his father’s shadow for his entire life. Buck Weston (Robert Duvall) is a selfish insensitive man who gets engaged at the same time his son does, and has a son on the same day his son does. It is always the case of Phil being topped by his dad.
It is even true in sports. Buck coaches Phil’s son Sam’s soccer team. Sam (Dylan McLaughlin) spends most of his time warming the bench. When Phil complains to Buck, his father responds that he has traded Sam to another team where he will get more play time. Of course this team happens to be the worst one in the league.
Phil ends up coaching his son’s team and even talks Mike Ditka (as himself) to be his assistant. In predictable fashion Phil becomes so caught up in the game and beating his father that nothing else counts. He becomes so fanatical that he becomes more of a liability to his team than an asset.
Just about anyone could write the outcome to this plot, and it plays out in a predictable fashion. There are no surprises and no changes from its preordained path.
Ferrell handles the role of Phil competently. He makes the funny scenes funnier than they otherwise would have been, and he inserts some emotionalism into his role as a father trying to step out of his father’s shadow. But there is nothing new in this role and nothing special in the way it is played. It is Ferrell being Ferrell, and for the most part that is a good thing.
Duvall is such a good actor that you hate to see him walking through a role like this one. There are no challenges for him here and it shows. Any hundred other actors could have handled this part and done just as good a performance with it. Ditka on the other hand does manage to make his role a standout. He huffs and puffs in just the right way to bring some energy to the screen.
The movie is rated PG for profanity.
“Kicking & Screaming” is another mild entertainment diversion from Will Ferrell. It will amuse audiences and probably be even more popular on video. But for those of us who saw the magic in “Elf,” it is a let down. Will Ferrell is capable of much, much more in his movies than this. Let’s hope that the “right vehicle” comes along soon.
I scored “Kicking & Screaming” a soccered 5 out of 10.
