Synopsis
After college graduation, Grover's girlfriend Jane tells him she's moving to Prague to study writing. Grover declines to accompany her, deciding instead to move in with several friends, all of whom can't quite work up the inertia to escape their university's pull. Nobody wants to make any big decisions that would radically alter his life, yet none of them wants to end up like Chet, the professional student who tends bar and is in his tenth year of university studies.
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Cast
- Josh HamiltonGrover
- Olivia d'AboJane
- Chris EigemanMax
- Parker PoseyMiami
- Jason WilesSkippy
- Cara BuonoKate
- Carlos JacottOtis
- Elliott GouldGrover's Dad
- Eric StoltzChet
- Samuel GouldPete
Recommendations
- 90
Chicago Reader
There's plenty of wit on the surface, but the pain of paralysis comes through loud and clear. - 83
Entertainment Weekly
The final affirmation of this romance is really an affirmation of Baumbach's talent: that a young filmmaker fixated on the solipsistic rituals of guyhood understands the hearts of women, too. - 80
Washington Post
As a writer, Baumbach loves smart, glib talk, and he has a sharp ear for fast-paced, overlapping dialogue; as a director, though, he prefers long takes that allow his characters to work out their feelings. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
Kicking and Screaming doesn't have much of a plot, but of course it wouldn't; this is a movie about characters waiting for their plots to begin. - 75
Rolling Stone
Scenes move from hurt to resigned laughter and ring poignantly true. The heroically unfashionable result is a minor but distinct pleasure. - 75
Christian Science Monitor
Written and directed by newcomer Noah Baumbach with an excellent ear for absurdity and a keen eye for the offhand realities of everyday life in a den of unmitigated slack. - 70
The New York Times
The film succeeds in finding something sweetly romantic and visually fresh in Grover's flashback memories of Jane, along with allowing Grover plenty of room for wisecracks. - 67
Austin Chronicle
It’s a nice debut piece for director Baumbach, despite the film’s reliance on the twentysomething blues formula.
