King KellyMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 66 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
17 not for kids
Read Common Sense Media review

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

  • 91
    indieWIRE | Eric Kohn

    It's an unflinching update to media scholar Neil Postman's prophetic claim about the deadly impact of television on cultural identity: Smartphones in hand, we face the danger of filming ourselves to death. Read full review

  • 80
    Time Out New York |

    Director Andrew Neel has hit upon a compelling reason for the found-footage gimmick: to indict a narcissistic generation who think their phones make them royalty. Read full review

  • 75
    The A.V. Club |

    King Kelly is a broad indictment of the emptier side of self-documentation and a more nuanced one of the Internet as a source of affirmation. Read full review

  • 70
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    The movie's other master stroke is the artfully unhinged lead performance of Louisa Krause as the despicable King Kelly, a character who would have been ready-made for Tuesday Weld. Read full review

  • 40
    The Hollywood Reporter | John DeFore

    Sadly, this film's POV conceit -- in which all scenes are shot by the characters, whether they have a plausible reason to hold the camera up or not -- quickly becomes as grating as Kelly herself. Read full review

  • 12
    Slant Magazine | Diego Costa

    The film decides very early on, as part of its premise, to reduce Louisa Krause's King Kelly to a one-dimensional narcissist. Read full review

View more reviews for King Kelly on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says not for kids Tons of sex, drugs in satire of "Generation Me" teens.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that King Kelly (a comedy shot almost entirely on iPhones) comments on the "me" generation's callousness, selfishness, narcissism, and obsession with fame. But while it's about teens, it's filled with mature material that makes it (ironically) not age appropriate for anyone under 18. To start, it has extreme sexual content, including a topless teen character (the actress playing her is really 26), simulated webcam masturbation, other sex acts, and sexual innuendo. Language is equally strong, with constant uses of "f--k," "s--t," and more. Teen girls are seen abusing alcohol and drugs over the course of a night (mainly vodka, cocaine, and Ecstasy), and other teens are seen drunk and high on pot. There's also some violence: A state trooper assaults a teen, and a secondary character is shot. It's not exactly a hopeful movie, but the sheer negative portrayal of these characters could inspire mature teens to become better people.
  • Families can talk about the teen characters' casual attitude toward sex. How do they use it? Is it about love/romance or something else? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.
  • Why are these teens obsessed with filming every detail of their lives and posting the footage online? What's the intense appeal of fame among young people? Why is it important to self reflect before you self reveal?
  • King Kelly's main character is selfish, callous, and narcissistic. Do you think she's meant to be likable? Funny? Does she make you want to be like her or avoid being like her?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: The main character, who's selfish and narcissistic to an extreme degree, learns absolutely nothing over the course of the movie, nor -- it seems -- does anyone else.
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: The characters are horrible, especially the main character, who's thoroughly selfish and narcissistic. She spends her time interrupting others, being angry when they don't understand her point of view, seeking her own pleasure, or simply posing and enjoying the power of her beauty and sexuality. Characters who challenge her are simply eliminated from the story.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: A gun is pulled, and a secondary character is shot (with a little blood shown). There's some intense punching and assault in one or two scenes. But mostly the violence is concentrated on arguments and threats.
  • sex false5 Sexy stuff: Some extreme sexual content. The main character is a performer on a sex webcam site. She's shown topless in two scenes, and she masturbates for her webcam -- it's not shown, but viewers can hear her moans and language. Viewers can read the posted comments from her "fans"; she later has sex with one of those same fans. No genitalia are shown, but it's clearly a sex act. There are various other sexual situations, mostly suggested, but some partly shown, involving teens. The entire movie features crass, intense, and constant sex talk.
  • language false5 Language: Strong, constant language, with many uses of "f--k" and "s--t" and various permutations of both, as well as "p--y," "ass," "boobs," "bitch," "d--k," "damn," etc. There are also a few middle finger gestures and many uses of "oh my God," mostly uttered by teen girls.
  • consumerism false2 Consumerism: Apple iPhones are used to film everything in the movie. They're shown quite often but rarely referred to by brand name. Facebook is also shown several times but not mentioned by name.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false5 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Two teen girls -- and a state trooper -- go on an all-day, all-night drinking and drug binge. They drink vodka, snort cocaine, and take Ecstasy and other pills. The teens drive drunk and high and crash their car. Many other minor characters -- all teens -- are shown high on pot or drinking or taking various other kinds of drugs. The wear and tear of this abuse is shown on their faces and in a scene in which one character nearly passes out on the bathroom floor.
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