Funny teen coming-of-age story has swearing, some drinking.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a lot
An early scene takes place at a big high school drinking party, with a keg that goes empty. The main characters attend the party but are denied drinks on account of being freshmen (though the school year has just ended and they're now rising sophomores). The movie's main teen female character is shown to be drunk at the party. In a later scene, two of the main teen characters are shown casually sipping beer in the woods but aren't shown drunk or overindulging. Adult characters are shown smoking cigars.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
"F--k" and "s--t" are used several times, by both teens and adults. "C--t," "c--k," "piss," "bitch," "bastard," "d--k," "goddamn," "hell," and "Jesus" are also used from time to time. A middle finger gesture is shown.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
The Boston Market restaurant chain is a large part of the movie's plot. The game of Monopoly is a smaller part. Barbasol shaving cream is shown. A character works on a snack wagon at a golf course, and many snack brands are glimpsed.
Violence & Scariness
some
The main character traps a rabbit and kills it (off camera). He then carries it back to camp, skins and cleans it, and cooks it. It appears to be a real rabbit, with blood shown. Characters often argue with one another, albeit in a playful way. A snake bites a main character, who is subsequently rushed to the hospital. In an early scene, a school bully steals the main character's shirt. Main characters play a violent "shooter" video game.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
The three main characters come of age in this story. They learn, somewhat, how to be self-sufficient and take care of themselves. They also learn that asking for a little help isn't a bad thing. They suffer through some betrayals -- both in romance and friendship -- but they find themselves wiser and more understanding. A father and son also learn to mend their fractured relationship.
Positive Role Models
very little
You wouldn't really want young teens emulating these characters -- especially when it comes to running away from home, stealing from their parents, and drinking while underage. But they're genuinely good people, and they do learn some valuable lessons about family, friendship, and trust.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Kings of Summer is a coming-of-age dramedy about freshmen/sophomore-age high school students. Like Stand by Me, the strong language is the main reason for the movie's "R" rating. Words include "f--k," "s--t," "c--k," and "c--t." There's also some teen drinking, mainly at a big party early in the film, and then some casual beer-sipping later on. There's a fairly intense scene of a character catching and skinning a rabbit, which appears real. Characters often fight and argue as well. Though there are some romantic stirrings between teens, there's little more than flirting (older characters are seen kissing), though one scene does suggest masturbation in the shower (nothing graphic is shown). Overall, the characters mean well (despite some iffy decisions/actions), and the film has worthy messages about friendship and self-sufficiency. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
SPOILERS (go watch before reading)
This drama/comedy coming of age film is a very well made and funny. It has a very good story and great acting from all of the cast. Throughout the film there is strong language, a lot like stand by me. I really enjoyed this film. The only thing i didn't like about it was towards the ending as their group had a fight and things wern't going as well... it kinda dragged on and one part in particular wasn't needed but was added to the story as if it was kinda forced. But thats just my opinion. Overall i thought this was a very good film that made me laugh and it was very interesting too.
Great little surprise of a movie. Beautifully filmed and very funny. The R rating is nonsense. Much more thought-provoking than most pre-teen and teen movies. Scene killing the rabbit (for food) could be disturbing to some but the character felt bad about it as well. This movie had some swearing but pretty minor. Did show kids drinking as a fun activity but part of the "plot". Great movie to watch with your kids. A bit of a Wes Anderson style of directing in terms of characters and humour. Laughed out loud a few times. I think this movie would be appropriate for 13/14 and up with parental guidance.
What's the Story?
At the end of his lackluster freshman year in high school, Joe (Nick Robinson) has gotten fed up with his cynical father (Nick Offerman). And his friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso) is so annoyed by his strange, cheery parents (Megan Mullally and Marc Evan Jackson) that he's getting a rash. Fortunately, Joe has the perfect solution: They'll run away into the woods, build their own house, and live like kings. The very strange, philosophical Biaggio (Moises Arias) joins them. Their adventure works, and they start to learn new and interesting ways of being in the world. But at the same time, new frictions come up: friendships are tested, and parents never stop looking for their missing kids.
Coming-of-age movies are generally a dime a dozen, but with this one, first-time writer Chris Galletta and Funny or Die veteran director Jordan Vogt-Roberts have created a breath of fresh air. The witty characters take action in their world and are allowed to succeed and fail alternately. They feel real and sympathetic, in spite of the cartoony nature of the movie's humor.
And although the parents are definitely stereotypes, they're also smart and allowed to fail, and they likewise earn our sympathy. The director employs many simple moments of life unrelated to the plot -- such as the opening "drumming" scene -- to add a specific summery, relaxed, wide-open mood to the movie. The casting and performances are faultless, and the three young leads make a terrific comedy trio together, generating a specific, unique chemistry. The Kings of Summer could become a young person's classic, destined to be rediscovered by subsequent generations.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether strong language is/should be enough of a reason to restrict teens from seeing a movie about characters their age. Teens: How prevalent is swearing in your life? Does it make a movie more or less relatable to you when it has that kind of language?
Kings of Summer shows teens drinking in two scenes. Could the movie have done without these scenes? Are there consequences for the drinking? Are they realistic?
What's the relationship between the teen characters and their parents? Are these relationships realistic or exaggerated for humor?
What's the most important thing the characters learn in this story?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
