Brutally frank, but is there any truth to it? (Kids (DVD))

Member Name: cjkace

Product:	Kids (DVD)
Date:	12/06/01 (265 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: More realistic than other 'teen flicks'

Disadvantages: Brutal, disturbing, will scare the parents of teenagers

Kids is a movie that caused a storm in the United States when it was released due to it's content and the director's use of very young looking actors. This film tries to show the 'truth' about youth culture in the States, as opposed to other teen flick movies which try to be light hearted.

The kids in this film range in age from approximately twelve onwards and the film portrays them as foul mouthed, sex craving drug users and if only 50% of the film is accurate then it is a very damning indication of our society.

To try and give a true representation of the films content and so that you can make an informed choice on whether to watch it or not, I am going to have to spoil the story, by giving away most of the plot (if you can call it a plot)

The story revolves around three central characters, and is told in a documentary style. Telly is a teenage boy who is obsessed with sex, but only sleeps with virgins, Casper is another boy, but he is obsessed with drugs and Jenny is an innocent who happened to sleep with Telly once, and is mighty pissed that he never spoke to her again.

The film opens with Telly and a young girl (who barely looks fourteen) sat facing each other on a bed. Telly whispers sweet nothings and then has sex with her, before dashing downstairs to tell his friend Casper all about it, explaining how she was so sweet and tight, and how he didn't think she was a virgin 'cos she moaned so much. They then go to a friends house and smoke some drugs, before the conversation gets around to sex and AIDS. One boy reckons that there can't be any such thing as AIDS as he doesn't know anyone that has had it.

The scene then changes to a group of girls talking in another house and this is where we first meet Jenny. She complains about the way Telly seduced then dumped her, and the girls all agree that all men are like that. The conversation then swings around to oral sex, with one girl c
ommenting that she didn't like the taste and the way the 'little sperm' get stuck to your teeth. AIDS rears it's ugly head here as well, and Jenny decides to accomapny a friend who is going to be tested.

After the tests are completed we find out that Jenny is HIV positive, and as she has only ever had sex with Telly, he must be the one that gave it to her, so she sets off to tell him.

Back to the boys now and we discover Telly and Casper at a local hangout where Casper gets stoned and messes around on his skateboard. A young black youth bumps into Casper, an argument ensues and the black youth gets beaten up by around twenty youths before Casper spits on him. The whole fight scene is very disturbing, especially as kids of all colours attack the black youth.

Some of the boys then decide to go swimming (Telly and Casper among them) and they call around for a girl, before going to the local outdoor pool, climbing the fence and everyone strips to their underwear, including two of the girls. The boys prompt two of the girls to kiss, which they do and then things threaten to turn ugly as one of the boys wants a kiss, and the girl refuses. Fortunately nothing happens.

Meantime Jenny (HIV positive remember) is still travelling to talk to Telly, stopping off at a club to get stoned, before arriving at a party wher she knows Telly is. Casper is also there, drunk and Telly is busy trying to get yet another girl to remove her clothes, by saying the same things that he said to the first girl and he succeeds. Jenny walks in while he is having sex (you can hear the girl begging him to stop because it hurts) and she leaves the room, in tears before slumping on a sofa and falling asleep.

Morning comes around to find Casper waking up in the bathroom. He goes in to the kitchen, drinks the dregs from the bottles and goes into the living room where he sees Jenny unconscious on the sofa. Without going into too much detail
he then rapes her while she is asleep.

Thats the whole movie (compressed anyway) and it is a very brutal look at what kids get up to, in their early teens. While the movie is told in a very frank style, there isn't any nudity, with most things being implied. If this is indeed what growing up is about then we are in for a very bleak future. Happily this isn't strictly speaking exactly the way society is going, but i remember seeing a documentary on television (Channle 4 or BBC 2) that was interviewing a load of kids in Liverpool, and that showed that a lot of what is in Kids IS happening.

Overall this is a very frank and disturbing look at youth culture, that is very disturbing, but compelling viewing all the same, although obviously not everybody's cup of tea.

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