We had our eye on director Jordan Vogt-Roberts early. Admittedly, by chance. One of us was watching some SXSW shorts randomly with little idea of what was on the docket and up came Vogt-Roberts’ very excellent short, “Successful Alcoholics” starring TJ. Miller, Lizzy Caplan, and Nick Kroll and we were instantly smitten and word spread quickly through our ranks. When the short finally hit online, the rest of us were quickly on board. So when it was announced that the filmmaker was debuting his feature length debut, “The Kings Of Summer” (then known as “Toy’s House“) at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, we were stoked.
And it turns out that short was no fluke. Premiering to strong reviews at Sundance, we called it “idiosyncratic, fresh and hilarious” in our review from the festival. A unique coming-of-age comedy,” Kings Of Summer” centers on three teenage friends – Joe (Nick Robinson), Patrick (Gabriel Basso) and the eccentric and unpredictable Biaggio (Moises Arias) – who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land. Free from their parents’ rules, their idyllic summer quickly becomes a test of friendship as each boy learns to appreciate the fact that family — whether it is the one you’re born into or the one you create — is something you can’t run away from.
The picture also co-stars Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally and Alison Brie and is due in theaters via CBS Films on May 31st in select theaters. Check out the teaser below and tell us what you think.