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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 45 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
8 Iffy for 8+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 75
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    An entertaining family movie, and may serve a useful purpose if it inspires kids to overthrow their coaches and take over their own sports. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen

    Laughs-wise, it lacks the raucous edge of an "Old School" or "Anchorman" or the retro charm of an "Elf," but there's still plenty of Will-power to fuel this likable underdog trifle. It certainly is more enjoyable than a lot of what passes for family entertainment these days. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety | Scott Foundas

    An immensely likable, funny comedy that finds a novel approach to that familiar combo of kids and sports. Read full review

  • 67
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Kicking & Screaming may be a prefab cartoon out of the "Bad News Bears" cookie cutter, but Ferrell doesn't just save this junk -- he rules it. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post | Michael O'Sullivan

    It's not brilliant by any means, but bright enough to light up an overly familiar feel-good story. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times | Kevin Crust

    A threadbare comedy glomming onto the ample talent of its star, Will Ferrell. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | Dana Stevens

    At best, this film is half-inflated. Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Not only not funny, it's unfunny. It kills humor. Sit in a room by yourself, look at a blank screen for 90 minutes, and you'll have more of a chance of laughing at your own thoughts than you will at this movie. Read full review

  • 25
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    A good script is the most essential ingredient for a good movie. Hiring a comedian isn't enough. Read full review

  • 20
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    If its made-for-TV sensibility explains its chaotically blobby shooting style, it doesn't clarify a plot so painfully padded that it looks for laughs in strange digressive asides regarding bratwurst and coffee. Read full review

View more reviews for Kicking & Screaming on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 8+ This sometimes-obnoxious comedy is no Elf.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this PG movie includes repeated scenes of physical violence against children. Though this is staged as humor -- specifically, a function of the immaturity and insecurity of perpetrators Phil (Will Ferrell) and his father Buck (Robert Duvall) -- it's also annoying and even startling (Phil kicks his own 10-year-old son, Buck pushes another child into a pool). The soccer game scenes are mostly fun, but do include a few rough action sequences. A couple of characters are slapped, punched, and kneed in the groin, adults smoke and drink (Phil becomes addicted to coffee, and very jittery). In one scene, the kids' team emerges from a van covered in blood (following an afternoon chopping meat in a butcher's shop), and so intimidate their opponents into forfeiting the game. Phil instructs his team members to bay at the moon like dogs. One child on the team has lesbian parents, who make Phil nervous, though he does his best to be "correct."
  • Families can talk about the basic lesson it offers: that playing fairly and having fun are more important than winning. Though the movie spends more time on the cheating and excessive investment in competing, you might talk about how kids can play games to practice skills and enjoy each other's company. The film also demonstrates the lingering effects of an emotionally abusive parent, so you might discuss the best ways parents and children can communicate needs, praise, and affection. As well, the presence of adopted child Byong Sun (Elliott Cho) might encourage discussion of how you define families.
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Adults coaches obsess about winning until one learns his lesson. More tedious than strictly offensive.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence and scariness: Kids' soccer games and physical comedy (punches and kicks).
  • sex false3 Sexy stuff: Older man married to younger woman, some suggestive leers.
  • language false3 Language: Some rude language and crude humor.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Designer coffee shops, discussions of marketing (sporting goods especially, the grandfather's business).
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters drink in a bar, and one sneaks vodka in a coffee mug.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Kicking & Screaming Movie Ratings + Reviews

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So-so 574 fan reviews

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