Kicking and Screaming

—Overview
—About
—Photos
—Spiritual Connections

Phil Weston (Will Ferrell) has a beautiful wife, a great son and his own vitamin store. But he’s never been able to please his father Buck (Robert Duvall) when it comes to sports. He tried sports as a youngster and in college and (hilariously) crashed and burned at every attempt. Years later, when Phil’s son Sam is “tradedâ€� by his granddad to another team whose coach has suddenly quit, Phil takes the bold step of coaching his son’s new soccer team. With a motley crew of misfit kids—including a couple of wunderkind Italian soccer geniuses, a couple of thousand cups of coffee and Super Bowl winning coach Mike Ditka in tow—Phil embarks on a journey to prove once and for all that he can stand toe to toe with his father in the sports world. It’s the opportunity he’s been waiting for all of his life! If only he could figure out just what in the world he’s doing!

Soccer moms and their kids are gonna love Kicking and Screaming. The kids will clap and cheer as each goal is scored in slow motion. They’ll also laugh as the kids on the team make silly jokes and send Will Ferrell through the requisite pratfalls that are involved in family comedies. Their parents will be entertained by another hilarious Will Ferrell performance. Ferrell is usually seen in his films playing a specific character (or caricature) but this is the first film I’ve seen where he’s played a regular guy. He gets the job done and keeps the audience heartily laughing out loud. Robert Duvall pretty much phones in his performance playing the stereotypical hard-nosed, “winning is everything!!!� type. It’s nothing that we haven’t seen before. Mike Ditka does a good job spoofing his own tough-guy image. Thankfully, he doesn’t break down into sappy, Hollywood sensitivity. He maintains his toughness throughout the film.

The story drags a bit in the middle as we see Phil’s team rack up a few wins—with the help of those Italian soccer pros mentioned earlier. We watch Phil transform from a scared and confused coach into a caricature of his own father. He becomes downright vicious to his son and the other kids on the team—and to kids on other teams as well. This transformation was played for laughs and intended to have an element of seriousness about it. But, in the end, it falls flat. In fact, it’s not really that funny at all. Of course, in the middle of the big championship game against his dad, Phil sees the error of his ways and the resulting ending is predictably right out of a sitcom. But the kids won’t care. They’ll be too busy “ooohingâ€� and “aaahingâ€� at those slow motion soccer shots.

In the midst of all this hilarity, there is a message regarding fathers and sons that gives the flick its most redeeming quality. Through his ups and downs, Phil realizes that it’s not about beating his dad. It’s more about gaining his dad’s blessing. The story of Jacob and Esau in the Bible shows in powerful detail the length to which those brothers went to gain the blessing of their father. This film is not nearly as tragic as that story, but the message is similar.

Additionally, we see how Buck’s arrogance, pride and constant public and private humiliation have damaged Phil’s life. We end up feeling sorry for Phil as he struggles to prove to his dad that he’s good enough to coach this winning team. It’s really not about the team. Phil is trying to prove to his dad that he’s good enough, period! Many sons wrestle with the sense of feeling “good enough� for their fathers who have put high and lofty expectations upon them, not only in the world of sports but in life in general. Many dads will see this film and possibly be convicted and challenged because the relationship between Buck and Phil mirrors their relationship with their own sons. The words of Ephesians 6:4 (“Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath…�) come to mind.

In spite of its flaws, folks will have a good time with Kicking and Screaming. It’s a fun movie that should tide the kids over until Star Wars and Madagascar open. Score another point in the win column for Will Ferrell!

—Overview
—About
—Photos
—Spiritual Connections