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82
Dark Knight, The
38
Death Race
36
Fly Me to the Moon
54
Get Smart
49
Hancock
34
Happening, The
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
71
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58
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61
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65
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79
Iron Man
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
73
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53
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24
Love Guru, The
51
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43
Meet Dave
33
Mirrors
31
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64
Pineapple Express
52
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53
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63
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36
Space Chimps
35
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50
Step Brothers
47
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71
Tropic Thunder
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
93
WALL-E
64
Wanted
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
93
WALL-E
82
Dark Knight, The
79
Iron Man
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Tropic Thunder
71
Horton Hears a Who!
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
64
Pineapple Express
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
61
Incredible Hulk, The
58
House Bunny, The
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
53
Longshots, The
52
Rocker, The
51
Mamma Mia!
50
Step Brothers
49
Hancock
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
43
Meet Dave
38
Death Race
36
Space Chimps
36
Fly Me to the Moon
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
34
Happening, The
33
Mirrors
31
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The
24
Love Guru, The
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

85
Alexandra
39
America the Beautiful
66
American Teen
73
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
xx
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61
Baghead
55
Beautiful Losers
xx
Beer for My Horses
47
Before the Rains
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
56
Bottle Shock
75
Boy A
55
Bra Boys
61
Brick Lane
64
Brideshead Revisited
61
Bustin' Down the Door
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
54
CSNY: Déjà Vu
xx
Cthulhu
86
Edge of Heaven, The
62
Elegy
52
Elsa & Fred
80
Encounters at the End of the World
64
Fall, The
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
83
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68
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62
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73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
56
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25
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44
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xx
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72
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62
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46
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67
Jellyfish
62
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63
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78
Last Mistress, The
50
Last Stop for Paul
70
Love Songs
61
Man Named Pearl, A
89
Man on Wire
90
Momma's Man
74
Mongol
80
Order of Myths, The
66
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
72
Priceless
61
Red
71
Roman de gare
78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
51
Savage Grace
52
Sixty Six
81
Tell No One
56
Then She Found Me
71
To the Limit
71
Transsiberian
81
Trouble the Water
83
U2 3D
86
Up the Yangtze
79
Visitor, The
61
Wackness, The
53
What We Do Is Secret
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
XXY
75
Young@Heart
90
Momma's Man
89
Man on Wire
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Edge of Heaven, The
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
83
Frozen River
81
Trouble the Water
81
Tell No One
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Order of Myths, The
79
Visitor, The
78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
78
Last Mistress, The
75
Young@Heart
75
Boy A
74
Mongol
73
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Priceless
72
I.O.U.S. A
71
To the Limit
71
Transsiberian
71
Roman de gare
70
Love Songs
68
Girl Cut in Two, A
67
Jellyfish
66
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
66
American Teen
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
Brideshead Revisited
64
XXY
64
Fall, The
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Elegy
62
Kabluey
62
Girls Rock!
62
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
61
Bustin' Down the Door
61
Wackness, The
61
Baghead
61
Man Named Pearl, A
61
Red
61
Brick Lane
56
Hamlet 2
56
Bottle Shock
56
Then She Found Me
55
Beautiful Losers
55
Bra Boys
54
CSNY: Déjà Vu
53
What We Do Is Secret
52
Elsa & Fred
52
Sixty Six
51
Savage Grace
50
Last Stop for Paul
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Before the Rains
46
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
44
Henry Poole is Here
39
America the Beautiful
25
Hell Ride
xx
I Served the King of England
xx
Bachna Ae Haseeno
xx
Cthulhu
xx
Beer for My Horses
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Kicking & Screaming
Universal Pictures
FILM:
MPAA RATING: PG for thematic elements, language and some crude humor
Starring
Will Ferrell,
Robert Duvall,
Mike Ditka,
Kate Walsh,
Musetta Vander,
Dylan McLaughlin,
Josh Hutcherson,
and
Steven Anthony Lawrence
Welcome to that cutthroat, hyper-competitive, do-or-die sport of...little league soccer, a world where kids and their victory-crazed suburban parents find themselves on a high-stakes collision course-all in the name of good, clean, athletic fun. (Universal)
| GENRE(S): |
Comedy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Leo Benvenuti
Steve Rudnick
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Jesse Dylan
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: October 11, 2005
Video: October 11, 2005
Theatrical: May 13, 2005
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
95 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
75
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
Ferrell's ideally suited to man-boy characters, and that's what Phil Weston is in "Kicking."

75
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Some scenes are just silly, others are dead-on uproarious. Ditka, a real-life football legend, is a real find as our hero's assistant.

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.

70
Newsweek
David Ansen
It's all kept light and funny, but underlying the broad sight gags is a movie that actually has something to say about competition, fathers and sons, machismo and caffeine.

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.

70
Variety
Scott Foundas
An immensely likable, funny comedy that finds a novel approach to that familiar combo of kids and sports.

70
Dallas Observer
Luke Y. Thompson
This might be the most predictable movie of the year, but at least it delivers everything you expect it to.

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.

63
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
For soccer aficionados, Kicking & Screaming boasts some fairly cool play, courtesy of Alessandro Ruggiero and Francesco Liotti, two kids who play "the Italians."

63
Chicago Tribune
Robert K. Elder
It's Ferrell who is the vehicle, a mow-you-down comic engine, and everyone else is just along for the ride in this marginally effective, starkly unoriginal family comedy.

63
New York Post
Kyle Smith
R0bert Duvall as a pee wee soccer coach? Great idea, but Kicking and Screaming should have had him roar, "I love the smell of juice boxes in the morning."

60
Chicago Reader
J.R. Jones
There aren't any big laughs, but there's a steady supply of small ones, and with his overgrown-kid persona Ferrell seems more comfortable in a family comedy than, say, Eddie Murphy.

50
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Keith Phipps
A sweet, inoffensive, achingly laughless comedy.

50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Leah McLaren
Luckily for the viewer, Ferrell is an irresistible presence. His occasional moments of unwarranted weirdness are the only thing that makes this otherwise pedestrian movie bearable (let alone interesting) to watch.

50
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
It would have been nice if someone had included a script, too.

50
Premiere
Kevin Allison
Relatively harmless fun, although it does make you wish Ferrell would do more risky, rule-bending work like "Anchorman." Enough with the generic star vehicles man, write thee a screenplay again!

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.

50
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
At best, this film is half-inflated.

50
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Crust
A threadbare comedy glomming onto the ample talent of its star, Will Ferrell.

50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
It never quite takes off.

50
Village Voice
Matt Singer
Even the intermittent laughs undermine
Kicking and its winning-isn't-everything message.

40
LA Weekly
Ella Taylor
My own little critic-in-training laughed her head off. Lacks taste, must try harder.

40
Empire
Dan Jolin
This year's Dodgeball? Not a chance. Ferrell admirably tackles the so-so material, but it soon defeats him.

38
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
Even a soccer-savvy audience has better things to do - like instilling unsportsmanlike behavior in their kids or sabotaging rival teams.

30
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
The heart of the problem may be that real life youth-sports insanity has far exceeded the bounds of family-friendly comedy.

30
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
This is little more than a big-budget sitcom, with a guest appearance by Mike Ditka, who plays an unfunny version of himself as Phil's assistant coach.
30
Film Threat
Pete Vonder Haar
Even understanding the audience for which Kicking & Screaming is aiming, it's hard not to notice the flaws.

30
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
Roughly as entertaining as watching your neighbor's kid's soccer game, not because you want to, but because you have to.

25
USA Today
Claudia Puig
A good script is the most essential ingredient for a good movie. Hiring a comedian isn't enough.

25
Miami Herald
Connie Ogle
Crushingly inept family comedy.

25
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
Too bad the director ties everyone's laces together and they all go down in a jumble.

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.

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.


The average user rating for this movie is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 144 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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