Kick the Moon is very much the predecessor to Attack the Gas Station, the director's previous film. While the setting and the characters have changed, the way the characterizations are handled, the style of humor, the plot twists all strike such a similar chord that it's hard not to see the resemblance between the two.
The story, however, is quite different. This revolves around two people, a former school badass turned respectable teacher and a former school geek turned badass gangster. They meet by chance as the latter returns to the hometown to "take it over". They start a tense friendship that flares into antagonism as a firecracker of a woman appears in their lives. Of course, things get increasingly crazy with multiple other players involved, including a bumbling cop, a displaced gangster, a quartet of high school students and more.
The film sprawls over the town its set in, but fortunately, we don't lose sight of any characters during the process. However, due to the sheer number of side characters, it can get a little unwieldy to keep track of what's going on in the story. At the same time, because the leads work so well together, both in terms of acting and story, it's still easy to follow what's going on. This isn't a classy or artfully shot film. It's a rough-and-tumble over-the-top comedy that manages to be amusing. But, I do wish it were cut down a little so that there wasn't so much going on--at the same time, that would take away from its sometimes bewildering nature.
In the end, this is an enjoyable film that suffers a little from just having too much going on. If you liked Attack the Gas Station, you will likely enjoy Kick the Moon. It lacks the social commentary of the first film, but adds in a more meaningful story about friendship, so it works on a slightly different level. However, it's not for everyone. Decent. 7/10.
