Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert both give this 1995 American coming-of-age drama exploitation film (directed by Larry Clark and written by Harmony Korine) a Thumb Up.
Whether you're a city kid or someone living out in the boonies, Kids speaks to the universal adolescent. Wild, reckless, real, funny, dead serious, painfully ironic, tragic.
Growing up as a teenager in NYC and watching this movie was a literal day on the life of what I was living and all of my friends. When you’re in that moment as a young teenager you don’t think about consequences or tomorrow. We were a generation that was left to our own devices coming from broken families or both parents working long hours. The violence, the drug and alcohol abuse, the random sex all at high levels seemed normal. I didn’t realize how not normal it was until I went away for college and met people my age who had “normal” childhoods. Would I change anything? No. Did it leave me with life lessons that have helped me throughout my life? Yes. It was strange times yo.
Love it or hate it, KIDS evokes a certain emotion.. it's difficult to watch but you can't turn away. It's disgusting but authentic. It makes you angry & nauseous & over stimulated. It doesn't leave you. How many movies actually elicit the responses you go through watching this grim masterpiece? Maybe just us Gen Xers get it. 90s we're a f*cked up decade..captured here in all its glory
Hard drugs, party's all the time, girls, fighting, people getting jumped, robbery/other crimes, etc. Living in the moment with 0 care about anything other then skating, partying, girls. Until one day you realize that you've dropped out and are going nowhere. Your over 20 and you know people who took a different path and they're in college or whatever and you've accomplished nothing. That was me. It's also not easy to turn the volume down after partying and living on the edge for years. The lifestyle itself is addicting not just the drugs and booze.
Yeah, I was 14 when I first saw this in 2000. Even though it was a little later, and clear across the country, it reminded me so much of my social group. A lot of those kids I knew ended up dead before the age of 30.
@@margraveofgadsden8997 Casper and the black dude, Harold from this movie are dead at 25 and 31. Both skated for the original Zoo York and Supreme teams I think
I love that Siskel said it made all other pictures seem cheeseball. That's exactly what it did for me. When I saw how raw a movie could be I didn't want anything phony and polished. (But shoot, now everything's overly polished.)
Harmony and Larry both will go down as actual real artist that broke new ground and showed the ugly that is our society. I grew up near harmony and he nailed Nashville metal kid scene and the weirdos that live around here with Gummo. His movies are surreal art mixes with a reality most don’t want to admit exists. But trust me this is what your kids are up to and it’s way worse today.
sometimes older teenagers need to see real life in film but the MPAA does the wrong thing with the ratings of films kids was one example of that getting NC 17 instead of R that is my opinion
Nc-17 is due to sexual content usually you can do anything else but can't be too much with sexual content and it was most I have seen top 3 atleast sexual movies
That’s how I’ve kinda felt about Harmony Korine’s career as a whole. You may not like the film, but you won’t forget it, so that has to count for something. I showed one of my friends Gummo one time and he was pissed at the end lol I said, “I warned you bro, it doesn’t have a central plot at all.” Later on he brought it up and was talking about how bad it was, but I made that same comment, “you think so, but I guarantee you’ll never forget the picture.” Lol and he couldn’t help but agree.
He said it should be watched by people 16 and up. It can also be watched by people 13 and up 14 and up and 15 and up. People 13 14 and 15 are just as mentally mature as people that are 16 and people 13 14 15 and 16 are just as mentally mature as people that are 17 and people that are 13 14 15 16 and 17 are just as mentally mature as people that are 18. Also people 13 and older are adults.
I was fifteen and living in a group home with gangbangers when this movie came out, and on our weekend outing to a movie theater, a few of them snuck out of Waterworld with me to watch this movie--when it ended, even they were at a loss for words. Two Bloods and a kid from 18th Street thought this movie was f'ed up.
This story is only realistic for the kids who had silly ass, very weak, uninvolved/uninterested parents!! LOL my mom would’ve NEVER had no shit like this!!! 😂 coming home drunk/high would’ve been the ass whooping of a life time! And the kids with us would’ve gotten fucked up too! My moms motto is “I’ll fight a kid if they mess with mines!” THANK YOU MAMI FOR BEING YOU AND RAISING US RIGHT!! 💪🏽🙌🏽
Yeah but not everybody is lucky also that is the whole message to tell those kids be careful on the path you take or you end up like them larry the director was a major drug addict and always wanted to be a filmmaker but was a book writer and he used the money for those towards his movie making career and he decided to get help and go to rehab and became clean and he finally did it and made kids
@@HonkeyKong54 I disagree. Euphoria very much speaks to troubled kids in modern times. The show is obviously not a low-budget indie, but that doesn’t devalue it’s themes and messages.
@@RShadow12 it completely lacks the authenticity this movie does though, everyone in it is a gorgeous movie star with funny, snappy and cool dialogue and great fashion sense, these kids have bad teeth, don't look very good, dress really simply and talk in this nonsensical way. If you read the summaries of the two you might think they're similar, but as pieces of art Kids is an authentic, real masterpiece and Euphoria is some bs to placate kids who wish they were troubled.
"You wanna pound this kid." That was the polite way to say it Gene. Anyone else about Telly would probably say they want to kick his ass or kill him. * Haven't seen this movie myself and don't want to. Doesn't look it sound like a pleasant experience.
@@christophmatthews4313 I wouldnt see either...... Ive watched reviews of horror films, that I don't need to see.... After 30years of writing films + watching films, there is no magic,... I know how the process works..... I've looked behind the curtain.. I no longer magicize, romanticise, poeticize the reality of script writing.... Many aspects of the human polygony are not worth, microscopizing....
lol triggered by a movie... The vast Majority of people would disagree with you... I think what it comes down to is it is a vision of youth you simply dont like. But fact is, this was life for us in the early 90's in New York. This is how we lived. In many ways, it is a documentary.
No! Harmony and Larry both will go down as actual real artist that broke new ground and showed the ugly that is our society. I grew up near harmony and he nailed Nashville metal kid scene and the weirdos that live around here with Gummo. His movies are surreal art mixes with a reality most don’t want to admit exists. But trust me this is what your kids are up to and it’s way worse today.
All the people who said they learned what not to do from kids. I was already far gone. Teen pregnancy at 14 and lived a troubled life on heroine but thank god today I have 10 years clean.
Every parent should watch it too. I knew plenty of kids like this in high school. Losers, latch key kids, absentee parents, the weird older guy who supplies tobacco and booze,, the one girl with the "cool" mom who lets her drink, smoke, screw, etc, and her house becomes a party spot/crash pad for degenerate teens. Usually the worst thing to happen is maybe an unwanted pregnancy, an STD, or a shoplifting bust, though. Good news is some of them managed to get over that BS and grow up to lead respectable, productive lives.
This film is many things. First and foremost it is a great, great movie. Second it is a classic example of how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences misses the mark time and time again when it comes to recognizing truly great filmmaking. Fuck the Oscars give me great Cinema!
This is when we love Siskel and Ebert, they talk about movies, society, culture, history, people regardless of if i agree or disagree with their knowledge/opinions so intelligently. Thank you to all you dedicated RUclips uploaders for keeping their legacy alive
I disagree it wasn't made for shock value or profit. This movie scared a lot kids straight and it was so neccessary for the times and even more relevant today. It served a purpose and I dont see anything exploitative about that.
even after 25 years kids is still a Seminole 90's film during a decade of great independent cinema: king of new york, bad lieutenant, man bites dog, reservoir dogs that hasn't lost it's edge
This movie changed my life, made me think twice of making impulsive decisions. Grim but real.
Whether you're a city kid or someone living out in the boonies, Kids speaks to the universal adolescent. Wild, reckless, real, funny, dead serious, painfully ironic, tragic.
Growing up as a teenager in NYC and watching this movie was a literal day on the life of what I was living and all of my friends. When you’re in that moment as a young teenager you don’t think about consequences or tomorrow. We were a generation that was left to our own devices coming from broken families or both parents working long hours. The violence, the drug and alcohol abuse, the random sex all at high levels seemed normal. I didn’t realize how not normal it was until I went away for college and met people my age who had “normal” childhoods. Would I change anything? No. Did it leave me with life lessons that have helped me throughout my life? Yes. It was strange times yo.
Did it also leave you with a lifetime of antiretroviral therapy? Yo?
I grew up in a small town in Canada but my teenage years were a lot like this too.
A lot of the kids I went to school with are dead from gang violence and overdoses
they killed killer, b!
Wrong movie 😂@@rinnyraonny549
Love it or hate it, KIDS evokes a certain emotion.. it's difficult to watch but you can't turn away. It's disgusting but authentic. It makes you angry & nauseous & over stimulated. It doesn't leave you. How many movies actually elicit the responses you go through watching this grim masterpiece? Maybe just us Gen Xers get it. 90s we're a f*cked up decade..captured here in all its glory
Every skate kid from this era grew up like this or definitely knew people exactly like this
Hard drugs, party's all the time, girls, fighting, people getting jumped, robbery/other crimes, etc. Living in the moment with 0 care about anything other then skating, partying, girls. Until one day you realize that you've dropped out and are going nowhere. Your over 20 and you know people who took a different path and they're in college or whatever and you've accomplished nothing. That was me. It's also not easy to turn the volume down after partying and living on the edge for years. The lifestyle itself is addicting not just the drugs and booze.
Yeah, I was 14 when I first saw this in 2000. Even though it was a little later, and clear across the country, it reminded me so much of my social group. A lot of those kids I knew ended up dead before the age of 30.
@@margraveofgadsden8997 Casper and the black dude, Harold from this movie are dead at 25 and 31. Both skated for the original Zoo York and Supreme teams I think
@@margraveofgadsden8997live fast, die young, and leave a good looking corpse
It’s disturbing at points but overall it’s actually a good movie
It really is a good film, and as Gene notes at the end of the clip, it's a serious film, not exploitation.
It’s disturbing because it’s so accurate
I love that Siskel said it made all other pictures seem cheeseball. That's exactly what it did for me. When I saw how raw a movie could be I didn't want anything phony and polished. (But shoot, now everything's overly polished.)
Me too ! Anything Larry Clark did always made other movies seem childish and corny to me
It also helps that the film was written by a teenaged Harmony Korine, who would go on to direct my 7th favorite movie of all time "Gummo"!!
Harmony and Larry both will go down as actual real artist that broke new ground and showed the ugly that is our society. I grew up near harmony and he nailed Nashville metal kid scene and the weirdos that live around here with Gummo. His movies are surreal art mixes with a reality most don’t want to admit exists. But trust me this is what your kids are up to and it’s way worse today.
sometimes older teenagers need to see real life in film but the MPAA does the wrong thing with the ratings of films
kids was one example of that getting NC 17 instead of R
that is my opinion
Nc-17 is due to sexual content usually you can do anything else but can't be too much with sexual content and it was most I have seen top 3 atleast sexual movies
Sad thing is you would think they all lived in the same foster home. "Only living for today"
KIDS is one of the greatest unknown/forgotten great movies. Might have to have a movie night with my teens
Wether you love it or hate it… it will stick with you
That’s how I’ve kinda felt about Harmony Korine’s career as a whole. You may not like the film, but you won’t forget it, so that has to count for something. I showed one of my friends Gummo one time and he was pissed at the end lol I said, “I warned you bro, it doesn’t have a central plot at all.” Later on he brought it up and was talking about how bad it was, but I made that same comment, “you think so, but I guarantee you’ll never forget the picture.” Lol and he couldn’t help but agree.
I think Larry Clark needed to make more films
Was that a two thumbs up?
Yup.
He said it should be watched by people 16 and up. It can also be watched by people 13 and up 14 and up and 15 and up. People 13 14 and 15 are just as mentally mature as people that are 16 and people 13 14 15 and 16 are just as mentally mature as people that are 17 and people that are 13 14 15 16 and 17 are just as mentally mature as people that are 18. Also people 13 and older are adults.
I was fifteen and living in a group home with gangbangers when this movie came out, and on our weekend outing to a movie theater, a few of them snuck out of Waterworld with me to watch this movie--when it ended, even they were at a loss for words. Two Bloods and a kid from 18th Street thought this movie was f'ed up.
Every single person to the last who I ever met that loved this movie absolutely gleaned completely the wrong thing from it.
This movie is so legi . Grew up with it at the time and lied it during!
2:56
This story is only realistic for the kids who had silly ass, very weak, uninvolved/uninterested parents!! LOL my mom would’ve NEVER had no shit like this!!! 😂 coming home drunk/high would’ve been the ass whooping of a life time! And the kids with us would’ve gotten fucked up too! My moms motto is “I’ll fight a kid if they mess with mines!”
THANK YOU MAMI FOR BEING YOU AND RAISING US RIGHT!! 💪🏽🙌🏽
Yeah but not everybody is lucky also that is the whole message to tell those kids be careful on the path you take or you end up like them larry the director was a major drug addict and always wanted to be a filmmaker but was a book writer and he used the money for those towards his movie making career and he decided to get help and go to rehab and became clean and he finally did it and made kids
Gen X was highly neglected
Wish i saw "kids" back in 2012.
Fantastic film
One wonders what they would have thought of the TV series Euphoria?
Euphoria is garbo Corporate phony feeling bs. Not even fn close to this.
@@HonkeyKong54 I disagree. Euphoria very much speaks to troubled kids in modern times. The show is obviously not a low-budget indie, but that doesn’t devalue it’s themes and messages.
@@RShadow12 it completely lacks the authenticity this movie does though, everyone in it is a gorgeous movie star with funny, snappy and cool dialogue and great fashion sense, these kids have bad teeth, don't look very good, dress really simply and talk in this nonsensical way. If you read the summaries of the two you might think they're similar, but as pieces of art Kids is an authentic, real masterpiece and Euphoria is some bs to placate kids who wish they were troubled.
kids bully ken park Marfa girl another day in paradise are good movies but RAW as hell these are not kids movies what so ever
If Telly is deflowering young kids, shouldn't he be going to jail for that?
The impression was that he was under 18, so technically, he would still be a minor.
He was a kid. Hence the title
Only if the parents' cared enough to know or do something about it, which is sorta the subtext of the entire film (they don't).
Saw this as a teen. Very disturbing. Wouldn’t want to be seeing it now. Will never watch it again but a very deep movie they’re 100% correct.
candances placed corn
gregory marcus scott sworn
hongmeizhou forlorn
"You wanna pound this kid." That was the polite way to say it Gene. Anyone else about Telly would probably say they want to kick his ass or kill him.
*
Haven't seen this movie myself and don't want to. Doesn't look it sound like a pleasant experience.
Minimum wage killed alot of jobs teens could've had.
this is probably the worst lesson you could get from this movie lmao
Juvenile delinquency predates the minimum wage hoss.
@@xxcrysad3000xx there was delinquency then? Kids killing kids? Pregnant teens? Nope
Smut disguised as art.
That's a very interesting take. Have you ever viewed Salo 120 days of Sodom? If so, would you place both films in the same category?
Smut is very kind.......like the film *cuties* it is voyeuristic prurience,for older viewer....
@@angelareele858 I bet you haven’t watched either one.
@@christophmatthews4313 I wouldnt see either...... Ive watched reviews of horror films, that I don't need to see.... After 30years of writing films + watching films, there is no magic,... I know how the process works..... I've looked behind the curtain.. I no longer magicize, romanticise, poeticize the reality of script writing....
Many aspects of the human polygony are not worth, microscopizing....
Art disguised as smut
They reviewed this horrible movie?
I am curious, why would you call It horrible? I mean it's disturbing and depressing but i'm not sure if it's horrible
It’s far from horrible lol
lol triggered by a movie... The vast Majority of people would disagree with you... I think what it comes down to is it is a vision of youth you simply dont like. But fact is, this was life for us in the early 90's in New York. This is how we lived. In many ways, it is a documentary.
No! Harmony and Larry both will go down as actual real artist that broke new ground and showed the ugly that is our society. I grew up near harmony and he nailed Nashville metal kid scene and the weirdos that live around here with Gummo. His movies are surreal art mixes with a reality most don’t want to admit exists. But trust me this is what your kids are up to and it’s way worse today.
All the people who said they learned what not to do from kids. I was already far gone. Teen pregnancy at 14 and lived a troubled life on heroine but thank god today I have 10 years clean.
Good for you! That's a hard trip back, you should be very proud of yourself
Everything siskel and ebert said is spot on! Miss these guys. This movie is definitely a must watch for teenagers. This movie is almost too real
Agreed. And I miss them, as well. RIP gentlemen.
It’s almost real because that was literally there lives but tweaked by a couple of percent
@@Noisefreaak everything but the Jenny hiv sub plot was based on witnessed events by the author.
Every parent should watch it too. I knew plenty of kids like this in high school. Losers, latch key kids, absentee parents, the weird older guy who supplies tobacco and booze,, the one girl with the "cool" mom who lets her drink, smoke, screw, etc, and her house becomes a party spot/crash pad for degenerate teens. Usually the worst thing to happen is maybe an unwanted pregnancy, an STD, or a shoplifting bust, though. Good news is some of them managed to get over that BS and grow up to lead respectable, productive lives.
Even though the movie 13 got more of the love I always thought this should have been a much more popular/important cult classic than it was.
This film is many things. First and foremost it is a great, great movie. Second it is a classic example of how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences misses the mark time and time again when it comes to recognizing truly great filmmaking. Fuck the Oscars give me great Cinema!
I could not agree more with you! Eff the Oscars.
Especially being a television series
Disturbing movie.
It doesn’t surprise me, but I’m always surprised when I see these guys watch a movie like this and not just get it, but defend it
Such an important and powerful movie!
2:50 Never thought before about how a movie they reviewed before could affect a review of the next movie.
Poignant
This is when we love Siskel and Ebert, they talk about movies, society, culture, history, people regardless of if i agree or disagree with their knowledge/opinions so intelligently.
Thank you to all you dedicated RUclips uploaders for keeping their legacy alive
Nice to see they both totally "got it", considering how unconventional this was at the time.
its reality
Light Shadow & Emotion - Larry Clark
Your work lives on for eternity thank you Sir.
The movie was good but it was also exploitative
I disagree it wasn't made for shock value or profit. This movie scared a lot kids straight and it was so neccessary for the times and even more relevant today. It served a purpose and I dont see anything exploitative about that.
These kids were already living that life before the movie was even made
@@siloshroom2132 true but like I said for the kids that weren't living like that it scared the shit out of us
even after 25 years kids is still a Seminole 90's film during a decade of great independent cinema: king of new york, bad lieutenant, man bites dog, reservoir dogs that hasn't lost it's edge