The spirit of Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me lives on in Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ coming-of-age drama, in which two best friends abandon civilisation and opt to spend the summer living on the woods. Together with eccentric classmate Biaggio, Nick and Patrick build a house in a clearing and eke out a modest but adult-and-responsility-free existence, but their utopian dream is short-lived. All three young male leads do a fantastic job here, and are ably supported by familiar faces including Nick Offerman and Alison Brie. However, it is Vogt-Roberts’ direction that really ties the film together, skirting just the right side of sentimental to deliver a film that is genuinely touching and frequently hilarious.
The Kings of Summer
