Kicking the Dog

That's how I would describe this little indie comedy that's almost a gem. It follows a group of friends - not quite the stereotypical group you find in most teen comedies - as they hang out for a week over summer. You have the younger hot girls who are impressed by the older guys - although there is only one older guy interested - and his slightly dry performance brings more than a few laughs as well as some laugh-out-loud moments. His younger brother and his friends are the ones who really want the girls, but don't realize they have no chance. Throw in a hilarious guy who wants footjobs and a job in a sex store (and dreams of little people), and this script almost never lets up.

The lead actress - Elizabeth Schmidt - brings a realness and tenderness to a role that isn't often seen in a sex comedy - and she truly is impressive and appears just as comfortable with her comedic timing as in her emotional scenes, which moves this movie beyond a typical sex comedy.

I had to rewind the movie a few times when I started watching it because the jokes were coming fast, often with little build up or space between. And some were just so funny or unique I had to hear them again. But be warned - you have to pay attention, if you don't, you're not going to enjoy this movie. I've seen enough bad teen sex comedies to know how they work - guys pursue hot unattainable girls, hi-jinx pursue and builds up to an uncomfortable funny moment every 5 minutes. Well, that is NOT Kicking The Dog. It doesn't rely on much build-up - just an impressive fast-paced script, quick editing, above average delivery and a unique take on everything "sex". That's right, I did say "unique".

Besides the fact you absolutely have to pay attention every second to get the jokes (90% are in the conversation) you also need to know the scenes take place in few locations, which is what ultimately keeps this movie from being rated higher. I feel as though it needed more unique hang-outs to put the actors in - or separate them from each other. I think that could have helped the overall look.

Basically, you;re going to laugh start to finish, you'll have to rewind it a few times to hear what you missed, and you'll be impressed by the touching moments...but you're going to wish you saw more places, or saw the cast out doing more.

Soundtrack - Very good. The songs used at the beginning and end are great! A few fast paced and a very slow song near the end.

Actors - Recognized one (Vedette Lim from true Blood), but a few others have done TV and movie work, so you may recognize more. Lead actors were all very good. A ton of actors with lines in this film.

Writer / Director - Randy Scoot Lammey. Not sure about the knickname - is it cool or corny? I guess if he's famous it's cool, otherwise it was a bad decision. His comedic writing is gold, but could tweak his storyline skills. Directing seemed adequate, but it's tough to judge.

BTW, even though there is almost no swearing in this film, I doubt you'll see it on USA anytime soon simply because of the topics - sex, sex, sex. And some little people.

I gave it a 6. I think that's fair. It's definitely above average - just because of the dialog and humor. The actors being tied to one major location holds it back. Some story lines could have been more developed.

It's worth a watch. A couple friends do quote it a lot. "you're not a little fella after all"

Like most people, the box cover completely threw me off. The artwork is not a good representation of the movie - and in fact the two guys on the cover aren't in the movie as far as I can tell. I was somewhat stunned the first 5 minutes of the movie, since it was nothing that I expected - which was some hot girls prancing around a party and getting half naked. Then I started to laugh - and I kept laughing.

Honestly, I laughed more at this movie than maybe any movie I have ever seen. At times, I was almost ashamed to be laughing - but it was so perfect. Yeah, they say wiener and discuss sex in front of girlfriends - but it took me back to when I was 20 and did the exact same thing. And the conversations are perfect. Yes they're over-the-top at times - but didn't you have 1-2 guys in your crowd that went over-the-top because they knew it was funny? So, yes I laughed a lot - probably more than similar movies. That said, those other movies like Superbad, Amer Pie, Old School - are still better movies because they use more locations (which Kicking The Dog needed) which keep it more interesting, the characters/acting absorbs you more, and there is a plot - which is my main issue with KTD.

KTD needed a cool plot to become a top level movie. It's basically a 5/10 movie with 9/10 humor. But the super low budget gives it a bonus point. It's not like I ever thought, "where's the plot", because there are some, but nothing that sucks you in during those slower moments.

From the ratings, this is a love it or hate it movie. Like when Music Magazines do those "people's choice - best and worst bands of the year" and the same band wins both the best and the worst. That's how I see this movie. If you had similar experiences hanging out with friends, you will probably laugh your butt off and love this movie. If you didn't, then you will probably shut it off after 10 minutes. But there are some genuine moments (the girlfriend is cute and very good actress).

Very funny dialog-and-antics driven movie - but mostly dialog. Not the typical antics like "I have to lose my virginity this summer", or trying to see a girl naked, or get a date with the hottest girl, etc. Basically it's unlike the movie you think it's going to be. This may be because the box cover has NOTHING to do with the movie (not sure if this is a good or bad marketing ploy or why they didn't just use something from the movie).

It's a sex comedy based around friends just out of college with an older friend and some high schoolers. It has a few of the generic characters from these types of movies - the older guy who still hangs out, the hot high school girl, the geeky kids - but the main characters are somewhat normal - and are just trying to find their way in life while they reminisce about the good old days. And isn't that what we all do when we are settling down - we don't make new fun as much as talk about the fun we used to have?

Drawbacks - too much of the action takes place in 1 house. That's the only big one. Also could have sacrificed some of the stand-alone comedic scenes for a little more story, but that's not too big.

Positives - Very, very funny. Writer has a keen ear for dialog and humor. The actors, generally, are very good. More than half are memorable. Soundtrack is better than most movies, and there are a lot of songs since there are a lot of party scenes. It looks good - by that I mean, the quality is better than most lower budget comedies I've seen.

It's funny. Period.

First off, if this was on a Hollywood budget, I would have rated it a 6. I considered giving it a 9 because of the budget, but settled on a reasonable 8. It is very funny and at times I caught myself rewinding the movie because I missed a joke because me or one of my buddies was laughing and couldn't hear it.

The context is somewhat simple - college kids (with a few high schoolers, as well as an over-the-hill hanger-on) party on 2-3 weekends and discuss sex while trying to have sex. It's very straight-forward and I've heard my friends have similar conversations many times. The writer has a keen ear for natural dialog and it's displayed with nearly every conversation, which are usually rapid-fire and funny. Even the few argument scenes come across very good, which I definitely didn't expect from this movie (thanks to Elizabeth Schmidt, who we should see more of).

Occasionally you feel trapped inside the house - since nearly every scene happens in a single location. But just about the time you think it's going to drag, the tempo picks up, a location changes, or something bizarre happens (cue the dwarf-3some dream sequence).

One nice thing about this movie is that the girls actually remind me of girls I hang out with. They're cool, can hang with guys, and are not simply an object to be conquered, although the guys are spending most of their time trying to hook up. And maybe that's why it seems so natural - because the guys are being themselves around the girls - having fun and trying to have sex, not just one or the other.

It's not for everyone, but it's worth a look because it you like the humor, you may rate it higher than I did. It also has a very impressive soundtrack, although I haven't found the songs for sale.

I have to believe that all the reviews of this movie that have more than one star are written by those who were in the film or had friends that are in it.

It was like watching a porn movie without the sex scenes. A home movie of a fraternity party would have been more interesting. I found myself fast-forwarding just to see if I could find a nude scene or something to keep me interested in this crap of a film.

I hate to be harsh but this film is the worst film I have ever seen and would rather watch someone actually Kick a Dog than recommend anyone waste their time with this trash.

Silver Lining: the fast forward button on the remote!