Kicking & Screaming

views updated

Kicking & Screaming ★★½2005 (PG)

Anemic family sports comedy that never would have been greenlit without a powerhouse like Ferrell in the lead. And it's to his sole credit that a movie this derivative works as well as it does. Mild-mannered Phil (Ferrell) is the anxiety-prone son of Buck (Duvall), a ridiculously competitive junior soccer coach who traded his own grandson, Phil's son Sam (McLaughlin), to another team. Determined to prove himself to Buck, Phil takes over coaching Sam's new soccer team, filled with losers and misfits, with the help of Buck's archrival Mike Ditka (yes, that Mike Ditka). Ferrell screaming at kids never stops being funny, but there's not an original moment in the entire film. 95m/C DVD . US Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall, Steven Anthony Lawrence, Musetta Vander, Elliot Cho, Josh Hutcherson, Dylan McLaughlin, Eric Walker, Dallas McKinney, Jeremy Bergman, Kate Walsh, Francesco Liotti, Alessandro Ruggiero, Laura Kightlinger, Rachael Harris; Cameos: Mike Ditka; D: Jesse Dylan; W: Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick; C: Lloyd Ahern II; M: Mark Isham.