Kids (1995) Reviews

• "You guys are sick, you know that?" – A character in the film says to a group of young boys who just beat the crap out of a guy in the park.

  dee.reid2004-07-14

  The first real thing anyone can do when watching an expose on certain aspects of American culture is to ask yourself a very hard question, "Is this real?" I had to do that with this film. Watching Larry Clark's 1995 film "Kids," an authentic and frightening expose of some particularly callous and reckless teenagers in New York City, one cannot wonder if the film is a brilliant commentary on the state of America's youth or is a cleverly exploitive portrait of a corrupted culture. I believe the latter. It depicts, with stunning authenticity, the chilling underside to a culture that abides by its own standards while tossing away the teachings and hard-learned lessons of an elder generation. First of all, I wouldn't believe anyone who says that this movie is hogwash or offers nothing close to a solution. Well, the first question that people should ask themselves is, do they know anyone like the kids in the movie? I do. I recently graduated from high school and I knew several people who were quite like the kids in this film. This film set out to do one thing: to show American parents, "Hey, these are your kids. Do you know what they do when you're not around?" Thoughtful people will ask themselves that. This is a film that deserves a thoughtful audience as a thoughtful crew made it and took the risks associated with bringing such harsh subject matter to the screen. Like last year's "Thirteen," "Kids" shows youth on the edge. These "kids" are perfectly amoral and addicted. These kids aren't all right; they're extremely dangerous. There isn't a whole lot to the story, other than it chronicles an eventful day in the life of Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick), his friend Casper (Justin Pierce) and their inner-circle of similar-minded, sex/drug-crazed associates. Telly has made it a duty to "deflower" as many girls as possible and later brag to his friends about his latest conquest; but by day's end, guaranteed, he would've done it again (a record for him to do two girls in one day). The main conflict of the story surfaces about 30 minutes in, when Jennie (Chloe Sevigny) discovers that she had contracted HIV from Telly during their first sexual encounter, and it becomes her mission to track him down before another young girl shares her fate. This is one powerful and dangerous film that is not for the faint of heart, as it is authentically bleak. There is no hope for the characters in the end; that is just how realistic this film is. The film is also filled with shockingly real images, and a wall of furious sound to drive home its key points. These are the kids of yesteryear, the forgotten generation; these kids are America's worst nightmare because they are young, dumb and just do not care; the fact that they do not care makes them especially dangerous. As I stated before, the imagery is extreme and frightening. If there ever was an honest thing these kids ever did, it would have to be willfully giving change to the less fortunate (a man with no legs who rides a skateboard on the subway). We also get images of younger children, swearing, drinking, smoking, talking like adults; trying to fit in with their peers who are not much older than they are. I was actually quite frightened by some baby pictures of our main character and then I see what's on screen. Then-newcomer Leo Fitzpatrick puts a face on a sleeping monster in America: the doomed generation of young people that disregard older generations completely and follow their own set of corrupted values. Telly is reckless and stupid; it is impossible to really sympathize with his character, even though we probably are. But it is difficult to do so, mainly because of his preference for deflowering girls younger than him (the first girl we see him with is only 12; he's about 15 or 16) and that could open up discussion for Telly possibly being a borderline pedophile. Where are the parents? One could very easily ask that question. Strangely enough, Telly lives with his mother and baby brother. She is the only parent in the film and she seems as every bit as irresponsible as her misguided son. Watching "Kids," I couldn't believe how real it is, how it sucks the viewer into its dark, dangerous, and seductive world; it's easy to see how a weak person could believe that what goes on in this movie is cool. It begs the most fundamental question any responsible person could ever ask, "Do you know where your children are?" It is a question that every good parent should ask when their teenage son or daughter steps out that front door and into the "real" world. "Kids" – 10/10

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• The Youth of our Nation.

  film-critic2004-11-07

  Larry Clark has broken the boundaries with this film. Not only is it one of the realist depictions of our nation's youth, but it also brings the fear of the AIDS virus closer to home. This is not a piece of fictitious work, this is brutal honesty in its rawest form. While many will knock this film because of the pornographic nature, I saw past that and witnessed the birth of the next plague. Writer Harmony Korine has taken the world of our children and transferred it to the big screen. I never once saw this as a shock film or disgusting, I saw honesty and truth behind every scene. This is really what is happening in our backyards. Kids are not as young as they used to be, and are growing up in a world with more possibilities and distractions than ever before. This is the modern world, and these are the newest leaders. While this is not what happens with all of our youth, it does paint a beautiful picture of just a handful. This is not just a story about NYC, it is a message for every city. This is happening all over this country. In the wealthy, poor, and everything in-between, our children are experimenting without any form of education or realization of their actions. This is not a film that will leave a very good taste in your mouth, but then again it isn't supposed to. This is better and more honest than any reality program out there and it will scare the daylights out of you. This is our world, we must change it. Grade: ***** out of *****

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• Amazing. Best dialogue in a movie

  Badfish1998-08-02

  Kids is one of the best movies I've ever seen. It's funny, horrific, but realistic. Despite the cast having no previous acting experience, the performances are all wonderful, especially Justin Pierce's (as Casper). The realistic story line, the classic dialogue, and the horrific finale are the film's best features. What bothers me is that many people discredit the film. Saying that the movie is exploitation, or something even more ridiculous. I think that people are unable to except the fact that Kids is accurate. Not all teenagers behave like Telly or Casper, but you'd be lying if you said that teenagers don't talk like that. Kids is not exploitation, but rather a brutally honest piece of social commentary. Kids is a deterrent for high risk sexual behavior. The film is also a wake up call for insensitive parents who take no responsibility for their children. Therefore, Kids is a truthful portrayal of urban life. it is not exploitation.

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• Should be required to watch in High School

  lane19812005-12-21

  KIDS is a dead-on accurate portrayal of the troubled youth of our times. But what a lot of people don't realize is this problem exists not only in large cities like NYC, but is without a doubt a serious problem in small towns. Homemade drugs and some '40s' followed by a 'roll in the hay' is the favorite Friday night pastime in a lot of rural areas. In some ways, small town kids have a bigger risk because the free clinics and youth programs available to kids in urban areas don't reach out to the country. Kids and parents alike seem to share the mentality of "that stuff just goes on in the cities". I grew up in a town of less than 10,000, and there were kids exactly like Telly and Casper in my high school- from the lingo and behavior right down to the dirty, stretched out t-shirts. AIDS aside, what I think is the scariest part of the movie is when Telly and Casper go to Telly's house, and his mom is there. She takes her parental duty as far as asking "where have you been?"- to which Telly responds with a lie, saying they were out looking for jobs. The audience knows they are lying, obviously- but you can tell the mother doesn't really believe it either- she's just too lazy, or preoccupied to bother with the whole thing. Pretty common occurrence among today's parents. KIDS should be a part of the required curriculum in Sex Education classes for all high school freshmen. Any parent who believes the vulgarity and sex and drugs is exaggerated or glorified is in need of a serious wake up call. If it's not your kid doing these things, then it's the one sitting next to him in class. And don't be so sure it isn't your kid.

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• Better than I thought it would be

  MovieAddict20162005-05-26

  I approached this expecting an explicit, controversial film for controversy's sake -- something disturbing and, let's face it, fabricated. I was surprised to find that yes, its aim is to make parents lock their children in their bedrooms for the next fifty years but also to truthfully examine modern-day childhood the way it really is. I knew kids like this, who talked like this, who listened to the Beastie Boys and who bragged about anything sexual they could think of. This movie follows the adventures and sexual pursuits of Telly, an AIDS-infected young teen who goes around taking advantages of virgins. We're led to believe Telly isn't aware of his disease but I think perhaps he does and gets off on possibly spreading it to others. One of his ex-girlfriends (Chloe Sevigny) becomes infected and spends the entire movie looking for Telly to warn him before he has sex with a young virgin. The end of the movie is pretty tragic and quite sad really. Yes, it is wrapped a bit too nicely in the sense that all this stuff happens to one group of kids within a period of a day or so, but by compacting many events into one scenario director Larry Clark makes quite a compelling little film/semi-documentary. One thing I should also mention is the dialogue, which I found to be the most realistic in any kid-starring film I've ever seen. He didn't just choose talented actors, he got the expressions, mannerisms and jargon perfected -- as a result it does come across as a very authentic, genuine film and even if you hate it, there's no denying it's pretty sickening. Whether you find that a good or bad thing is entirely up to you.

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