Now I will be upfront about this I am a complete sucker for coming of age movies and tend to like them more than other people, however 'The Kings of Summer' (Vogt-Roberts, 2013) is one of the best ones I have ever seen and deserves it place alongside 'Stand by Me' (Reiner, 1986) in the pantheon of great coming of age movies and more than that great movies generally.

'The Kings of Summer' principal character is Joe played brilliantly by Nick Robinson (Not the BBC's political correspondent). He is a young man still dealing with the loss of his mother and not very much not getting on with his father Frank played by the always funny Nick Offerman. This is the heart of the storycan Joe reconnect with his father, just like the story of 'Stand by Me' is actually about Gordie (Wil Wheaton) coming to terms with his brother's death. What is important about both these stories is the plot is not principal about either of these things. It is just an underlying message. It is this added emotional toll which makes both of these films so great.

But along with the emotional toll of the film, it is important for me to say that the 'The Kings of Summer' is undoubtedly one of the funniest films you will see. Here is one of the many great quotes: "Joe: Vicki's making eyes at you man. Go talk to her. She's so into it. Biaggio: There's no point in me talking to her anyway. Joe: Why not? Biaggio: Joe, I'm gay. Joe: Are you sure? Biaggio: Yes, my lungs fill up every time the seasons change. Joe: That's not being gay, Biaggio. Biaggio: What? Joe: Pretty sure that's Cystic Fibrosis. Biaggio: Oh". The Scriptwriting by Chris Galletta is full of these brilliant moments of wit. Anything the character of Biaggio (Moises Arias) is just brilliantly funny. He delivers his lines so perfectly. He is such a strange character that he easily could have become very hate-able but Moises Arias treads the line brilliantly and makes Biaggio just about a character you can believe in.

The director of this film Jordan Vogt-Roberts has since moved onto direct a huge Hollywood blockbuster namely 'Kong: Skull Island' (Vogt-Roberts, 2017). The leap from 'The Kings of Summer' a  coming of age comedy, to what is presumably going to be a much darker action movie is a large leap. But based on how well Jordan Vogt-Roberts handled 'The Kings of Summer' it should be no issue for the talented director. 'The Kings of Summer' is an ultra feel good movie, brilliantly written, acted, shot and directed. We are starting to go into Autumn now but see the summer out in style along with the 'Kings'.

Thanks for reading, hope to hear from you.

Website and videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWZwfixftlA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiKJfO7eJOo

http://collider.com/kings-of-summer-poster-giveaway/ Image by Jon Wilcox one of five done by some talented artists.

Bibliography

Stand by me (1986) Directed by Rob Reiner USA: .The kings of summer (2013) Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts USA: .Kong: Skull island (2017) Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts USA: .

Citations, Quotes & Annotations

Stand by me (1986) Directed by Rob Reiner USA: .(Reiner, 1986)The kings of summer (2013) Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts USA: .(Vogt-Roberts, 2013)Kong: Skull island (2017) Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts USA: .(Vogt-Roberts, 2017)