You are here:

Kicking and Screaming

Name: Kicking and Screaming
Director: Noah Baumbach
Released: 1995
Duration: 96 min

Representation Score

4.4/10

Fair

1995

Director

Noah Baumbach

Runtime

96 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Kicking and Screaming explores modern domestic life with a focus on psychological realism rather than broad demographic representation. It successfully critiques traditional social structures and the stability of the nuclear family, offering a nuanced look at emotional stagnation and the erosion of authority figures. However, the film falls short in representing diverse identities, including racial and LGBTQ+ communities. It focuses primarily on a homogeneous, heterosexual experience, lacking engagement with broader social issues. Ultimately, the work is a focused character study that prioritizes depth over breadth, examining emotional paralysis and the breakdown of traditional authority.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Kicking and Screaming have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film does not include significant storylines involving LGBTQ+ characters or non-traditional gender identities. The focus remains on heterosexual relationships and interpersonal conflicts.

How does Kicking and Screaming portray gender?

Fair

Gender roles are challenged through shared emotional struggles rather than empowerment. While the film avoids traditional gender stereotypes, it does not give prominent roles to female characters.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Kicking and Screaming?

Minimal

The story is set in a predominantly white, middle-class environment in New York. There is no indication of racial diversity or inclusive casting.

How does Kicking and Screaming represent religion and culture?

Good

The film emphasizes secular themes and questions traditional Western institutions. It portrays the nuclear family as a source of problems rather than stability.

Does Kicking and Screaming include disability representation?

Limited

Themes of mental health and neurosis are explored as part of the indie realism style. Characters with disabilities do not have significant storylines or narrative ability to act.

Present on Screen

Effective deconstruction of traditional Western institutions and the nuclear family.
High psychological complexity in depicting interpersonal dysfunction and emotional inertia.
Subtle critique of societal expectations through the lens of arrested development.

Limited or Absent

Lack of racial and ethnic diversity within the narrative.
Absence of LGBTQ+ representation or engagement with non-traditional gender identities.
Minimal focus on characters with visible or invisible disabilities.

Official Synopsis

After college graduation, Grover's girlfriend Jane tells him she's moving to Prague to study writing. Grover declines to accompany her, deciding instead to move in with several friends, all of whom can't quite work up the inertia to escape their university's pull. Nobody wants to make any big decisions that would radically alter his life, yet none of them wants to end up like Chet, the professional student who tends bar and is in his tenth year of university studies.

How are these scores produced? →