The Kings of Summer
CBS Films | Release Date: May 31, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
12
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The GuardianMike McCahillSep 22, 2014
The director's background in online shorts manifests itself in an occasional, montage-heavy scattiness, and the broadly conventional closing act can't quite maintain the laugh rate, but there's a lot of warm-hearted and commendably daft business along the way. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJun 3, 2013
The Kings of Summer is far from original, but it’s also far stranger than it seems, in ways both good and bad. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanMay 31, 2013
Built on dry one-liners, off-kilter timing and self-conscious nostalgia, The Kings of Summer seems expressly designed to delight quirk-loving Sundance audiences. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMay 31, 2013
Has some vitality, but it sinks into cliché just the same. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyJun 7, 2013
The Kings of Summer flirts with profundity, seeming to yearn for it and fear the honest expression of it at the same time. There is much here to admire, but the overall impression is of a film that does not have the courage of its convictions. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn HornadayJun 6, 2013
Without the benefit of deeper psychological spadework, The Kings of Summer stays resolutely on the surface, resembling more of an extended sitcom than a memorable movie on a par with the films it references. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJun 3, 2013
Compare this film with "Mud," and you realize how desperately you cared about the fate of the boys in "Mud," whereas those in Vogt-Roberts's movie are often too listless and too plaintive to earn, let alone heighten, our anxiety. [3 June 2013, p.74]
50
NPRMark JenkinsMay 31, 2013
Like the recent "Mud," The Kings of Summer is a tale of feral adolescent pals in search of freedom and adventure. The movies even share essentially the same awkwardly contrived climax. But of the two films, The Kings of Summer is more of a comedy, with a depiction of the eternal war between teen and parent that's downright farcical. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChris CabinMay 28, 2013
The film's aesthetic is marked by off-tempo editing and a tone that vacillates between grim and coy, and though it's occasionally visually evocative, it's also unmistakably over-calculated. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubIgnatiyVishnevetskyMay 29, 2013
The Kings Of Summer doesn’t take itself seriously; short of having the actors break character, it’ll do anything for a laugh. It leans heavily on interminable improv scenes and interminable montages edited from improv scenes. In other words, much of it plays like the outtakes reel that would be shown at the wrap party of a better, more tightly structured film. Read full review
40
Village VoiceInkoo KangMay 28, 2013
The Kings of Summer plays like an extended sitcom episode, and not a very special one at that. Read full review
40
Time OutEric HynesMay 28, 2013
Eager to please and easy on the eyes, The Kings of Summer sails right down the middle, safely tacking between sitcom setups and grandiose MGMT-scored montages without forming its own distinctive feel. Read full review
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