Kicking & Screaming

‘Much ado about nothing' would be an excellent alternate title for this critically ballyhooed portrait of slacker brats leaving college and getting down to the real business of...doing diddly. Unfortunately, young writer/director Noah Baumbach doesn't realize that this banal stuff is pretty transgenerational (the slacker is not a new American phenomenon). Not nearly as good a twentysomething film as, say, Before Sunrise, this is an optional purchase for larger collections. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Aug. 22, 2006—Criterion, 96 min., not rated, $29.95—Making its first appearance on DVD, 1995's Kicking and Screaming sports a very nice transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include filmmaker Noah Baumbach's 30-minute 2000 short film “Conrad and Butler Take a Vacation” starring Kicking and Screaming cast members Carlos Jacott and John Lehr, a 26-minute conversation featuring Baumbach and cast members Chris Eigeman, Josh Hamilton, and Jacott (26 min.), a 13-minute interview with Baumbach, three deleted scenes (10 min.), a nine-minute compilation of brief interviews with Baumbach and the cast from 1995 (originally broadcast on IFC), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a disappointing film.]