Booker High has fallen under the draconian leadership of Principal Weller (Julie Bowen), who is systemically revoking the rights of the school's students in her effort to become School Superintendent. Fortunately, English teacher Mr. Drucker (Malik Yoba), a former documentary filmmaker specializing in social issues, is .. Read more
| Starring | Gregory Smith, Nicole Richie, Rosanna Arquette |
|---|---|
| Director | Josh Stolberg |
| Genres | Comedy, Gay/Lesbian |
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Booker High has fallen under the draconian leadership of Principal Weller (Julie Bowen), who is systemically revoking the rights of the school's students in her effort to become School Superintendent. Fortunately, English teacher Mr. Drucker (Malik Yoba), a former documentary filmmaker specializing in social issues, is encouraging a small group of students to change the world. Most inspired by Drucker is Holden Donovan (Gregory Smith of TV's EVERWOOD), who uses a talent show as a platform to lambaste Weller's suppression of free speech. His stunt gets him expelled, but he isn't deterred from haunting the school--with some help from a similarly determined group of free-thinkers--and seeing that Weller never makes it to the school board. Taking the average teen flick template and twisting it into something smarter, Josh Stolberg's funny, good-natured KIDS IN AMERICA provides the requisite amount of sex jokes, but makes a clear case for freedom of expression and tolerance. Unabashedly critical of the Bush administration, it also sees Weller cite the Patriot Act as a defence for ignoring students' rights and expelling two gay students for kissing. Paying homage to classic teen films and using interviews with real kids who upheld free speech in their schools to replace the usual closing credits outtakes, KIDS IN AMERICA challenges the ordinary.
| Starring | Gregory Smith, Nicole Richie, Rosanna Arquette |
|---|---|
| Director | Josh Stolberg |
| Studio | MOMENTUM PICTURES |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 31 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Comedy, Gay/Lesbian |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 12 Feb 2007 Production year: 2005 |
| Format | DVD |
An underrated little gem. Clever script ( 'I have zero tolerance for that ') with some nice performances. I loved the 'guess which movie ' fantasy sequence. Good fun with a gentle message. Class.
In a bizarre way, I really enjoyed this movie. I hated the first 15 minutes or so when the characters were introduced as obvious stereotypes etc, but actually once it got going it was really quite watchable. The actor playing Holden is surprisingly good and really comes into this own in the second half of the movie and has charisma in truckloads. The sequence where he and his girlfriend re-enact great kisses from teen movies is sweet, charming and disarming. The other actors/actresses are so-so and work Ok with the flimsly characters that they have. The film does carry a strong and important message and yet manages to be entertaining and that's not always an easy thing to do. Don't get me wrong, it's no classic, but it is a fine way to kill 90 minutes.