Kicking & Screaming Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Kicking & Screaming Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 6, 2018

Kicking & Screaming blends together a couple of reliable genres -- the family rivalry film and the youth sports picture -- into a single, entertaining movie. Cliché-riddled on both ends but hearty and energetic, Director Jesse Dylan (American Wedding) keeps the film moving at a good clip and capably overcoming the sum of its trite parts with a lean focus and some spirited performances from a contemporary comedy legend, a legendary actor, and a real-world sports hero. This is a fun, breezy watch that hits its high points with enthusiasm and keeps the momentum going until the last goal and the inevitable dramatic resolutions.

Phil Weston (Will Ferrell) has never been able to live up to his father's wishes. He was born with a soccer ball in the crib but was never athletically gifted. His father Buck (Robert Duvall) has shunned him at every turn, disappointed that his son couldn't become the on-field star he was groomed to be. When Phil announces his engagement, so too does his dad. Both of them bear a son, and they're born on the same day, with Buck's baby just a little bit bigger, of course. As the years go by, Phil remains in his father's shadow, and a disappointment. Phil's son Sam (Dylan McLaughlin) plays soccer on a team his grandfather coaches, but he rides the pine. Buck ultimately trades Sam to the Tigers, a rival last-place and winless team that doesn't even have a coach. Desperate to get his son some playing time, Phil decides to fill in, temporarily at first, as the team's manager. It's a struggle at first, but the team gels, particularly when legendary football coach Mike Ditka (himself), Buck's next-door rival, agrees to help coach the squad, and when Phil is able to recruit a pair of gifted Italian players who have previously not been allowed to play organized sports. As the Tigers record improves, the discord between Phil and Buck pushes towards a breaking point as they seem destined to meet in the championship game.

This reviewer couldn't help but think of a line from Major League when watching Kicking & Screaming: "this guy threw at his own kid in a father-son game!" Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall are a perfect pair in the movie. Ferrell basically plays himself, or at least the gentle caricature he has built through the years. The script doesn't stretch his comedy chops all that far, but he excels in playing the modestly immature adult who, in this movie, is still dealing with his own daddy issues, feelings of inadequacy, coping with the disappointment he has brought his father, and enduring the continued ribbing he still hears from his dad. While his Phil is a fairly stock character, he's also a fairly well-built and nicely realized character whose shortcomings add a dynamic as he attempts to make it as a coach rather than as an athlete. Duvall chews up the material as the father, who is certainly overbearing and a bit crude but never hateful. This isn't that kind of movie, where the relationship has fallen into complete disrepair. Buck's ribbing feels good-natured even when it's not supposed to, and Duvall finds a perfect middle ground between antagonistic father and likable villain, a perfect blend for a good-natured family comedy.

Structurally, the movie follows type, gleefully embracing cliché -- the slow coming together of the team, bringing in a couple of hotshot players who have not been allowed to play sports but are suddenly permitted to take the field and play well above the competition, the winning montage that sees the team move up the standings from an o-fer record to the .500 mark -- and actually making it work. The film keeps the focus on the rivalry between father and son and, particularly, how the rivalry, the coaching, and some coffee all slowly transform Phil into someone he doesn’t want to be: his father. Needless to say he’ll need to do some soul-searching before the movie is through, and even if that comes predictably, too, there’s enough good cheer, humor, and heart to carry the movie even through its endless predictabilities.

Kicking & Screaming Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Universal's spotty track record with catalogue releases will certainly dampen expectations and enthusiasm for any release, but Kicking & Screaming actually looks quite good. The image struggles with print wear -- pops and speckles are fairly commonplace with spikes in a few places -- but other signs of age, encode issues, or digital tampering are very few and far between. Details are very nicely reproduced. The image is filmic and texturally stout, holding firm in the presentation of faces, clothes, soccer fields, and other environmental necessaries. Textural complexity is consistent with few, if any, softer focus shots or problems with noise reduction that would flatten or eliminate detail. Colors are impressively deep and nicely saturated. Contrast has certainly been bumped a little, warming the palette -- including flesh tones -- but soccer field greens are lush and other primaries are pleasantly intense. This is a very well-rounded 1080p image from Universal.

Kicking & Screaming Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kicking & Screaming's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack plays large. What it lacks in absolute precision it makes up for with aggressive posture and effort. Music pushes out to the edges, particularly many of the more popular beats that crank out of the speakers with an impressive edge and vigor. Soccer game sound effects enter the stage with impressive volume and stretch. A shattered fish tank sends gallons of water rushing out of the speakers. Little bits of environmental support -- applause in chapter three -- spreads far enough out, and with enough clarity, to draw the listener into the location. Dialogue is clear and firmly positioned in the front-center channel.

Kicking & Screaming Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While this Blu-ray release of Kicking & Screaming offers no top menu, it does contain several vintage extras accessible only in-film via a crude pop-up menu.

• Deleted Scenes (1080i upscaled, 11:56 total runtime): A collection of scenes with no identifying markers.
• Outtakes (1080i upscaled, 8:42): humorous moments from the shoot.
• Alternate Takes (1080i upscaled, 5:35): Several different versions of a few scenes.
• Kickin' It with the Kids (1080i upscaled, 3:15): Interviews with the kids who perform in the movie.
• Soccer Camp (1080i upscaled, 7:37): A look at the actors' soccer training for the film.
• From Rome to Hollywood (1080i upscaled, 8:56): A closer look at the film's pair of young Italian soccer prodigies.
• Behind the Net: The Making of Kicking & Screaming (1080i upscaled, 13:00): A run-through of the story, cast and crew's soccer stories, the writers' inspirations, casting and characters, Duvall's influence on the set, improv on the set, and more.

Kicking & Screaming Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kicking & Screaming is a fun little movie that overcomes trite plot points and embrace of predictable cliché thanks to a couple of strong lead performances from Ferrell and Duvall. Add in some Mike Ditka, cool soccer action, and plenty of caffeine (the coffee subplot is a little strange, admittedly), and the film makes for a fairly enjoyable time at the movies. Universal's Blu-ray is surprisingly solid, featuring robust video, hearty audio, and a few supplements. Recommended.