I'm going to keep this short and sweet. If you get a chance to see this
film, GO!
Some well known faces that appear in the
film are Nick Offerman (you may know him as Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec)
who plays Frank a sarcastic, uninvolved father of Joe (Nick Robinson). And
there is Megan Mullaly (Will and Grace) as Mrs. Kennan an overbearing
mother of Joe's best friend Patrick (Grabriel Basso) The film stars Joe who is having a hard time adjusting to his life
in general. His father has started dating a new woman, his sister lives far away
with her boyfriend, he gets picked on at school, and generally it appears he
just feels smothered by his life.
Parallel to Joe's life is his best friend
Patrick who IS actually smothered by his life. His overbearing parents
micromanage his life, and ask trivial questions all throughout the film like oh
you eat your burger first before eating your fries? The poor boy has started to
get hives over the attention! Both boys in the film you can easily tell are
trying to find their place in life amongst their chaotic living conditions, and
come to terms with growing up. What better way to escape from your home life,
but to build a house in the middle of the woods!
After a late night party in the woods, Joe
finds himself with Biaggio, the school nerd from what you can tell. At first I
was like who is the actor playing Biaggio and why does he look so familiar? OH
it is Rico from Hannah Montana! What a different and serious role for
him. He definitely came out of his shell and showed a completely different side
to his range of acting. He was more of the odd sidekick who kept the boys on
their toes during the film, while showing extreme loyalty to his new found
friends. One of the comical parts of the film was when Patrick asks Joe where
Briaggio came from, and Joe says I don't know but I'm scared to ask him to
leave!
After Briaggio and Joe find the woods in
the film, this is when the film really takes off. The three boys start building
their home in the woods that is paired with a great montage of scenes and music.
As a participant in their wild ride, you really start to feel a connection with
the boys and their need to escape away from their lives. After they have
finished building their home in the woods, they decide upon a night to finally
leave their parents. It is pouring rain and you think this is where they
discover they can't make this happen. But behold, when they wake from their
sleep it is a brightly sunny day! They spend the next four weeks living in the
woods from the stolen goods and money they got from their parents. Again,
another great montage of hanging out in the woods, bonding, and obstacles they
overcome tell the story of their time together. The artistry of the scenes
really brings you into the film as you enjoy running through the fields, jumping
off of rocks, and hiking through the woods with these boys.
There is a twist to this story. A love
interest of course. Before Joe leaves you are introduced to Kelly (Erin
Moriarty) who Joe has a crush on. She is why he ventured out of his house to the
party that night, and she is why he leaves the confines of the woods to go talk
to her. Joe invites Kelly and her friends back to their house in the woods for a
night of partying and drinking. He day dreams about their time together, and how
he vanquishes Frank when he tries to come between him and Kelly. Once at the
party, you realize that Kelly has other plans. I do not like to do spoiler
alerts, but things do not go the way Joe plans. Even though Joe does not want to
be like his father, he finds himself acting like Frank and drives his friends
away after an angry outburst. Joe now alone in the woods, slowly starts to
realize that you can not push everyone away that you care for and still expect
to be happy. You do need to rely on others for help and support.
At the end of the film you find yourself
thinking, how are they going to rap this up? How are they going to bring
everyone back together after living for four weeks in the woods? Kelly not
wanting to lose her friendship with Joe, tells Frank where Joe has been hiding
after Patrick and Briaggio return home. Frank has been relying on Joe's sister
Heather (Alison Brie) for emotional support, and has come to terms with his
bully-ing behavior after a sarcastic outburst towards Heather and her boyfriend.
Kelly leads Frank to the woods, and finds Joe in a duel between him and a poisonous snake. In an effort to not sound cheesy, you'll have to see the film
to figure out how this situation ends.
This was one of the most refreshing, well
crafted, and lighthearted films that I have seen in a while. My biggest gripe
with the entertainment industry lately is how unoriginal films have been lately.
This was a saving grace for me that there is still some great filmmakers out there that can pull you in emotionally to the characters, and leave you laughing
and smiling through a plot line.
Rating: FULL
Teacup
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