Kicking and Screaming (2005)
Directed by Jesse Dylan
Written by Leo Benvenuti & Steve Rudnick

When Bob Dylan was 39, he made Saved. When Jesse Dylan was 39, he made Kicking & Screaming. *Shrug* Okay, having firmly made that non-point, I'll say that I found Kicking & Screaming mostly amusing, although when Mike Ditka is the most consistent comic presence, you know this is not a carefully-constructed comedy. Rather, it's one of those throw-Will-Ferrell-at-this-half-written-script sort of movies that could have tried harder, but knew it didn't really need to.

Ferrell is Phil Weston, a high-strung vitamin-store owner (?) whose ruthlessly competitive father Buck (Robert Duvall, clearly figuring, "Well, if De Niro can do this shit, so can I") coaches the winning kids' soccer team. Ferrell, therefore, is compelled to take over coaching the losing kids' soccer team (you know, the one where the kids don't kick the ball, they pick their nose instead). The ensuing attempt to beat his father drives Ferrell to extremes, forces him to confront his father issues, and leads him to develop a rather bizarre addiction to coffee. (?)

The inevitable Bad News Bears-type shit ensues, etcetera, etcetera. Ferrell is amusing, though I'm getting pretty bored with him simply screaming ad-libbed non-sequitirs all the time. What helps the movie actually work is the assortment of geeky kids they managed to assemble, some of whom seem genuinely retarded and most of whom are very funny. The film takes a few questionable risks in the way it utilizes the kids, which I appreciated, since otherwise this would simply be The Mighty Ducks with Will Ferrell screaming.

Review by Mia Marrow