Customer Reviews

Kids in America

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I bought this DVD on the strength of Gregory Smith being in it, and I have to say that Gregory does not disappoint.Neither does the rest of the film.The movie is most enjoyable, and in some places, rather reminiscent of that glorious TV series from the early 1990's Parker Lewis Can't Lose, except with rather more serious content and intention.

Amd what can I say about Gregory Smith that has not been said before?This young man is a most wonderful and natural performer, and I certainly look forward to many years of seeing his work in the movies and on TV.

Excellent effort all round

I almost turned this off during the first five minutes, as the jokes were obvious and painfully unfunny, the budget was glaringly low, and the dialogue didn't ring true. I was thinking about winging an email to Roger Ebert, who liked it, asking him what was he thinking.

But for some reason I stuck with it, and I ended up liking it a LOT. True, a lot of the jokes throughout the rest of the movie were still bad, but I also laughed out loud more than a few times. Moreover, the movie's simply a lot of fun, with smart politics--objectionable only to Neanderthals--and a cast full of recognizable faces. Though I had to go to IMDB to figure out that the Oriental actress, Emy Coligado, who is obviously too old for this high school kid role, plays Piama on "Malcolm in the Middle."

Be sure to check out the outtakes on the DVD. On many DVDs these would consist of a lot of lame, unfunny mugging for the camera, but many of the outtakes on here are actually pretty good. Julie Bowen is particularly funny, singing that cameltoe song, and explaining why she "hates" Angelina Jolie: "She has a big chest, big lips, skinny legs, and she's philanthropic. I'm a selfish, flat-chested, big-assed bitch."

I found this little gem on Netflix--well, actually, my wife found it. Netflix suggested that I would like it about 3.5 stars, I'd find it cute, but nothing really memorable. Instead, I was led on an amazing journey of reliving my high school days and how they could have gone. The movie is about a school that is held under the iron fist of a totalitarian principal that refuses to let students express themselves. One of the first transgressions that occurs is the principal suspends a girl for gluing condoms to her shirt for condoning sex. The girl argues that no matter what people say, students will have sex and it's better for them to be safe than girls getting pregnant. This and a few other things sparks a school-wide revolution where the students protest for their right of freedom of speech.

I read a few reviews on here where people said this movie is "dangerous." Are serious? When I went to high school, a student was arrested for sitting in one of the "popular" kids seats. I kid you not. He was almost charged for resisting arrest because his mother came to the school and challenged the school's wisdom. These are the types of situations going on everywhere--high schools and colleges alike--and I agree with the movie's morals entirely. We need to teach students to learn. We need to teach students how to think for themselves instead of just accepting things because "that's the way they are." A powerful message hidden in a popcorny, teeny bopper camouflage. I rank this one up there with Freedom Writers as one of my favorite movies to show students.

I bought this movie not really knowing what it was about. I watched it and I was amazed. It's based on a few true stories of kids in schools who were suspended and that really made it stand out. The acting was incredible and the story was just plain amazing. Seeing as I'm in high school, I could really see where the teens were getting their ideas from, but I'm not pulling those stunts! Really, this movie was awesome and I really recomend it.

I saw part of this on TV and then never heard from it again, so I bought the DVD so I can see the complete movie. I was particularly intrigued by the cute red-haired star who came from nowhere and then disappeared into obscurity after this movie was made. Her name is Stephanie Sherrin. The movie is your less-than-average High School comedy movie and gets a 2-star rating. But I really liked watching that cute red-haired girl so I added two stars to give it a 4-star rating. I'm surprised that Caitlin Wachs didn't shine in this movie. Caitlin has one of the most beautiful faces I've ever seen. But in this movie she just looked like another pretty cheerleader. It seems in this case that it's the girl with the cuter personality that shined.

I can't say it better than Rodger Ebert: "Once in a blue moon a movie escapes the shackles of its genre and does what it really wants to do. "Kids in America" is a movie like that. It breaks out of Hollywood jail. You know all those "brainless high school comedies"? Here's what one would look like if it had brains."

I loved this movie
I am huge fan of Julie Bowen and she was fantastic in the movie

Also the cast of students were really GREAT

The movie was a lot of fun for me and the commentary track made it worthwhile to own rather than to rent

Borderline propaganda thinly disguised as entertainment... This movie is so preachy and politically heavy-handed, that after watching it you'll feel like you've been socked in the jaw by Michael Moore.

The gist of the movie is that the "hero" kids want to dictate how and what they're taught in school, particularly regarding sex education. Sort of defeats the purpose of education if the kids are so convinced they already have all the answers, but this irony/hypocrisy is apparently lost on the filmmakers. The kids go to such obnoxious extremes to enforce their will on the school administration, that it's hard to imagine that any objective viewer will still be rooting for them by the end of the movie, and yet that is clearly the filmmakers' deluded intention. I found myself rooting for the "evil" high school principal. I wonder if the filmmakers would be proud that I rebelled against their establishment, or disturbed that I chose the "wrong" side.

Some of the things held up as liberties are so laughably absurd, that it makes the kids look more stupid than bravely idealistic. (Pretending to commit suicide during a school talent show is a constitutional right? Seriously?) As one might expect, this movie follows the disturbing trend of portraying all kids as good and wise and most adults (except for those that agree with the kids, of course) as bad and buffoonish. The characters are all one dimensional. The "antagonist" adults are portrayed as having no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

This movie was "inspired" by actual events. Somehow, I have the feeling that the "real" kids probably did have a legitimate gripe against an overbearing principal. However, the kids in the movie are so blindly convinced that they are right and everyone who disagrees with them is wrong, that they elicited no empathy from me at all.

Yes, it's some of the jokes like the one in the title that do sort of mar this otherwise brilliant, quick paced movie that pulls out all the stops to make its' point. Like the slightly smarter and more realistically presented Pump Up the Volume, Kids in America delves deep into the root of a major issue, a principal who has nothing but her own interests and future as a superintendant in mind. Unlike Pump whose high school population only really becomes active at the end, Kids' high school's students get involved right away. Throughout the movie they create some positive havoc in some truly jaw dropping ways. At the end, we hear our head revolutionary offer us "So, did we change the world? If not, its still early in the week" and yes, it seems that a phrase such as this is a perfect way to end this all too short film. They may have just got the ball rolling, which is exactly as it should be. There is work to be done in this fashion within schools all across America.We send our kids to these learning institutions every day. So as you watch Kids in America, take the cheesy jokes in stride and see the hugely important issues presented. You'll be glad you did.

The video store was completely out of all the major movie titles, so I'm looking around and land on Kids in America. At first I didn't really want to rent it, but since there really wasn't much else I just went ahead with it. This movie was absolutely horrible from start to finish. This movie has no plot, terrible acting, among other things that make this movie terrible. It is honestly an unwatchable movie. I literally had to turn it off 45 minutes into it because I was bored and Nicole Richie's acting made me lose braincells. So please stay away from this movie it will rot your brain and bore you to death.

1/5