Kids

A crazed teenager (Leo Fitzpatrick) just wants to skate, slack and have sex with young virginal girls. What he does not know is that he is carrying HIV and infecting all those he happens to bed. Classmate Chloe Sevigny learns she is one of the unlucky victims and attempts to find Fitzpatrick before he sleeps with anyone else. Of course Fitzpatrick and best friend Justin Pierce (about as rotten a kid as his pal) move all around the city and are near impossible to track down as we see teenagers on an endless ride of sex, drugs, parties and general mischief. "Kids" is one of those films that ultimately falls due to the fact that it wants to shock and disgust rather than educate and convince. Thus we have a movie that has very little upside. It quickly becomes a cheap way to make society wonder if this could actually be going on in our nation. By the finale, the primary characters were all so backwards and out of their element that I was numbed by the experience and had no legitimate feelings for any of the teenage players (this by the way is not a good thing). Pierce, admittedly a potential talent, committed suicide a few years after this was released. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

A group kids in NYC run wild in a world without adult supervision. Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick) loves to deflower virgins. One of the girls he deflowered in the past is Jennie (Chloë Sevigny). She and her friend Ruby (Rosario Dawson) go to do a STD check. Ruby is clean but Jennie tests positive for HIV despite having had sex with only Telly.

I remember this was edgy at the time. It still is seeing this after 20 years. It has the documentary feel and mostly unknown amateur actors which only adds to its realism. Both Leo Fitzpatrick and Chloë Sevigny are amazing. I do forget that this is also Rosario Dawson's debut. Some of the other kids also put out raw performances. Harmony Korine's script has a real authenticity to it.

This film struck me in the heart, it made me feel terrible after seeing it and any movie that can have a impact on me like that, I congragulate. The film is almost like a documentary of a group of kids in NYC. It probably isn't completely realistic but its believable. It is a frightening wake up call to America.

If you want to be moved watch this film. The acting is great for a group of rag-tag kids, they make the story really believable and passionate. I do believe that Larry Clark has a strage obsession with teenage nudity, in every film I've seen of his there has been tons of teenagers having sex, sometimes it spoils the film.

Overall the film is powerful and moving, watch it.

This is not a super super film, but it stays with you, which was sort of the point - especially if you saw it at the time it was released, before the onslaught of "dark" teen movies over the decade following. This was the granddaddy of the genre and remains one of the darkest and grittiest of them all, in both subject and style. Perhaps in part because the subjects were an urban group of kids, rather than the angsty suburban set we've grown accustomed to seeing, there is a rare and truthful ferocity to the characterizations. The emotive mechanism isn't their redemption as mere children, but their total fallibility as young adults. Though obviously this represents a small sample of teenagers in the united states, it will make you think twice about how much earlier we seem to lose our childhood these days. Great ensemble cast with very believable performances. Its attempt to approximate the reality of a documentary is a unique success. In addition to stong dialogue and direction, credit should be given to the cast for that; obviously, chloe sevigny was a standout here. A really important subject for its time and a very credible portrayal.

Disturbing, even all these years later. Taking us back in time to some all too relatable scenarios, fears and peer pressures, catapulting in the ultimate horror story, Kids was real life for too many. This movie stays with you long after the credits roll, so be prepared to think it over. A lot.