Kids (film)
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''Kids'' is a 1995 American
coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by Larry Clark and written by
Harmony Korine Harmony Korine (born January 4, 1973, some sources report September 1, 1974)
" Retrieved on 2009-10-26.
is an Ame ...
. It stars
Leo Fitzpatrick Leonardo Aurellio Randy Fitzpatrick is an American actor and co-director of the Marlborough Chelsea gallery. He is best known as Telly in '' Kids'' (1995) and Johnny Weeks in ''The Wire'' (2002–2004). Career He was discovered at age 14 by ...
,
Justin Pierce Justin Charles Pierce (March 21, 1975 – July 10, 2000) was an American-British actor and skateboarder who grew up in the U.S. He is best known for his roles as Casper in the 1995 film ''Kids'' and Roach in the 2000 film ''Next Friday''. On J ...
, Chloë Sevigny, and
Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama ''Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include ''He Got Game'' (1998), '' Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in Bl ...
, all in their film debuts. Set in 1995, Fitzpatrick, Pierce, Sevigny, Dawson, and other newcomers portray a group of teenagers in New York City. They are characterized as
hedonists Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decre ...
, who engage in sexual acts and substance abuse, throughout the course of a single day. Ben Detrick of the ''New York Times'' has described the film as "''
Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is a 1954 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes ...
'' with skateboards, nitrous oxide and hip-hop... There is no thunderous moral reckoning, only observational detachment." The film was deemed controversial upon its release in 1995 and caused public debate over its artistic merit. It received an
NC-17 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures ...
rating from the
MPAA The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...
, but was released without a rating. Critical response was mixed, and the film grossed $20.4 million on a $1.5 million budget.


Plot

A boy named Telly and a 12-year-old girl are kissing on a bed. With no adults around, Telly, who is 17, persuades the girl, who is a virgin, to have sex with him. Afterwards, he meets with his best friend, Casper, and they talk about his sexual experience. Telly vocalizes his desire to keep having sex with virginal girls. The pair then enters a local store, where Casper shoplifts a 40 oz. bottle of malt liquor as Telly distracts the cashier. Looking for drugs, food, and a place to hang out, they head to their friend Paul's apartment, despite expressing their dislike of him on the way there. Once they arrive at Paul's house, they join the other boys in boasting about their sexual prowess, as well as their nonchalant attitudes to both unprotected sex and venereal diseases. While doing so, the boys smoke marijuana while watching a skating video. Casper inhales
nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has ...
out of balloons, which Telly considers dangerous. Across the city, a group of girls, among them Ruby and Jennie, are talking about sex. Their attitudes evidently contradict that of the boys on many topics, particularly oral sex and the significance of the individuals to whom they lost their virginities. Ruby and Jennie mention that they were recently tested for STDs at Ruby's request, though Jennie only got tested to keep Ruby company. Ruby's test is negative, though she has had multiple sexual encounters, many of them unprotected intercourse. Jennie tests positive for
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
. She tells the nurse that she has had sex only once, with Telly. Distraught over her results, Jennie spends the rest of the day trying to find Telly, to prevent him from passing the virus on to another girl. Meanwhile, Telly and Casper walk to Telly's house and steal money from Telly's mother, who is preoccupied with taking care of her new baby. They go to
Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's public parks, it is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. ...
and purchase a dime bag of marijuana from a Rastafarian. They then meet up with a few friends to talk and smoke, one of whom gives a
blunt Blunt may refer to: * Blunt (surname), a surname (and list of people with the name) * Blunt (cigar), a term used in the cigar industry to designate blunt-tipped, usually factory-rolled cigars * Blunt (cannabis), a slang term used in cannabis cult ...
-rolling tutorial. During the hangout, Casper and many others taunt a gay couple passing through the park. On the side, Telly briefly talks to Misha, a girl who strongly dislikes Casper and calls him a jerk. As Casper rides on a skateboard, he carelessly bumps into a man, who angrily threatens and pushes Casper. The man is struck in the back of the head with a skateboard by Casper's friend Harold, causing him to collapse. A number of other skaters join in, beating, stomping, and hitting the man with their skateboards until he is rendered unconscious by a final blow to the head by Casper. Telly then spits on him. While discussing whether or not they killed the man at the park, Telly and some of the group pick up a 13-year-old girl named Darcy— the virginal younger sister of an acquaintance— with whom Telly wants to have sex. He successfully convinces her to accompany them to a public pool. The other girls engage in kissing and flirtation, but Darcy shows restraint. Afterward, the group goes to an unsupervised party at the house of another friend, named Steven. Meanwhile, Jennie makes her way to Washington Square Park where she speaks to Misha, who tells her about Telly's possible whereabouts at "N.A.S.A.". When Jennie arrives at the club, she runs into Fidget, a raver boy, who shoves a pill into her mouth, which he says is supposed to make "
Special K Special K is an American brand of breakfast cereal and meal bars manufactured by Kellogg's. The cereal was introduced to the United States in 1955. It is made primarily from grains such as lightly toasted rice, wheat and barley. Special K used ...
look weak". The drug turns out to be a
depressant A depressant, or central depressant, is a drug that lowers neurotransmission levels, which is to depress or reduce arousal or stimulation, in various areas of the brain. Depressants are also colloquially referred to as downers as they lower the ...
. Once its effects set in, Jennie discovers that Telly is at the party at Steven's house. Jennie arrives at the party only to learn she is too late, as she discovers Telly having sex with Darcy, thus exposing her to HIV. Emotionally drained and still under the influence, Jennie cries and passes out on a couch among the other sleeping partygoers. A drunk Casper then rapes Jennie unprotected as she sleeps, exposing himself to HIV. Another teen at the party was able to witness the assault. As daylight approaches, a voice-over by Telly explains how sex is the only worthwhile thing in his life. The next morning, a naked and confused Casper wakes up and says "Jesus Christ, that happened?"


Cast

*
Leo Fitzpatrick Leonardo Aurellio Randy Fitzpatrick is an American actor and co-director of the Marlborough Chelsea gallery. He is best known as Telly in '' Kids'' (1995) and Johnny Weeks in ''The Wire'' (2002–2004). Career He was discovered at age 14 by ...
as Telly *
Justin Pierce Justin Charles Pierce (March 21, 1975 – July 10, 2000) was an American-British actor and skateboarder who grew up in the U.S. He is best known for his roles as Casper in the 1995 film ''Kids'' and Roach in the 2000 film ''Next Friday''. On J ...
as Casper * Chloë Sevigny as Jennie *
Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama ''Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include ''He Got Game'' (1998), '' Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in Bl ...
as Ruby * Yakira Peguero as Darcy * Atabey Rodriguez as Misha *
Jon Abrahams Jon Avery Abrahams (born October 29, 1977) is an American actor. His most notable film roles include Bobby in ''Scary Movie'' (2000), Denny Byrnes in ''Meet the Parents'' (2000), and Dalton Chapman in the '' House of Wax'' (2005). Early life ...
as Steven *
Harold Hunter __NOTOC__ Harold Atkins Hunter (April 2, 1974 – February 17, 2006) was an American professional skateboarder and actor. He played the role of Harold in Larry Clark's 1995 film ''Kids''. Career Hunter was born in New York City and grew up in ...
as Harold * Sajan Bhagat as Paul * Hamilton Harris as Hamilton Additionally, Sarah Henderson portrays the first girl Telly is seen having sex with and Tony Morales and Walter Youngblood portray the gay couple. Julie Stebe-Glorius and Christina Stebe-Glorious appear as Telly's mother and younger brother, respectively. The Rastafari is played by an actor credited as "Dr. Henry". Screenwriter
Harmony Korine Harmony Korine (born January 4, 1973, some sources report September 1, 1974)
" Retrieved on 2009-10-26.
is an Ame ...
has an uncredited appearance as Fidget.


Production

Larry Clark said that he wanted to "make the Great American Teenage Movie, like the Great American Novel." The film is shot in a quasi-documentary style, although all of its scenes are scripted. In ''Kids'', Clark cast New York City "street" kids with no previous acting experience, notably Leo Fitzpatrick (Telly) and Justin Pierce (Casper). Clark originally decided he wanted to cast Fitzpatrick in a film after watching him skateboard in New York, and cursing when he could not land certain tricks. Korine had met Chloë Sevigny in New York before production began on ''Kids'', and initially cast her in a small role as one of the girls in the swimming pool. She then was given the leading role of Jennie when the actress hired to play Jennie,
Mia Kirshner Mia Kirshner (born January 25, 1975) is a Canadian actress, writer and social activist. She is known for television roles as Mandy in '' 24'' (2001–2005), as Jenny Schecter in ''The L Word'' (2004–2009), as Amanda Grayson in '' Star Trek: Di ...
, was fired. Sevigny and Korine went on to make ''
Gummo ''Gummo'' is a 1997 American experimental drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine, starring Jacob Reynolds, Nick Sutton, Jacob Sewell, and Chloë Sevigny. The film is set (but was not filmed) in Xenia, Ohio, a Midwestern American tow ...
'' (1997) and ''
Julien Donkey-Boy ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' is a 1999 American experimental drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine. The story concentrates on Julien, a man with schizophrenia, played by Scottish actor Ewen Bremner, and his dysfunctional family. The film als ...
'' (1999) together. Korine makes a cameo in the club scene with Jennie, as the kid wearing Coke-bottle glasses and a
Nuclear Assault Nuclear Assault was an American thrash metal band formed in New York City in 1984. Part of the mid-to-late 1980s thrash metal movement, they were one of the main bands of the genre to emerge from the East Coast along with Overkill, Whiplash, ...
shirt who gives her drugs, though the part is credited to his brother Avi. Korine reportedly wrote the film's screenplay in 1993, at the age of 19, and principal photography took place during the summer of 1994. Contrary to the perception of many viewers, the film, according to Korine, was almost entirely scripted, with the only exception being the scene with Casper on the couch at the end, which was improvised. Gus Van Sant had been attached to the film as a producer. After insufficient interest had been generated in the film, he left the project. Under incoming producer
Cary Woods Cary Woods (born May 6, 1957) is an American film producer. In addition to producing worldwide blockbusters ''Scream'' and ''Godzilla'', Woods also produced the directorial debuts (or breakthrough features) of many notable filmmakers, including ...
, the project found sufficient independent funding for the film.
Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films includ ...
of Miramax, wary of parent
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
's opinion of the risky screenplay, declined to involve Disney in funding the production of the film. After Woods showed him the final cut, Miramax paid $3.5 million to buy the worldwide distribution rights of this film."Controversy: 'Kids' for Adults",
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
, February 20, 1995


Release

Miramax, which was owned by The Walt Disney Company, paid $3.5 million to buy the worldwide distribution rights. Later,
Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...
and
Bob Weinstein Robert Weinstein (born October 18, 1954) is an American film producer. He is the founder and head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Miramax Films and The Weinstein Company, all of which he co-founded with his older brother, Harvey. He ...
(the co-chairmen of Miramax) were forced to buy back the film from Disney and created Shining Excalibur Films (a one-off company) to release the film, due to Disney's policy, that at the time, forbid the release of NC-17 rated films (and the fact their appeal to the MPAA to lower it to R was denied). Eamonn Bowles was hired to be the chief operating officer of Shining Excalibur Films. The film, which cost $1.5 million to produce, grossed $7.4 million in the North American box office and $20 million worldwide. According to
Peter Biskind Peter Biskind (born 1940) is an American cultural critic, film historian, journalist and former executive editor of ''Premiere'' magazine from 1986 to 1996. Biography He attended Swarthmore College and wrote several books depicting life in Holl ...
's book ''Down and Dirty Pictures'', Eamonn Bowles had stated that Harvey and Bob Weinstein might have personally profited up to $2 million each.


Reception

The film received mixed reviews. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has a "rotten" score of 47% based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 5.70/10. The site's consensus reads, "''Kids'' isn't afraid to test viewers' limits, but the point of its nearly non-stop provocation is likely to be lost in all the repellent characters and unpleasant imagery". On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a score of 63/100 based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". It was championed by some prominent critics, including Roger Ebert of ''
The Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'', who gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4. "''Kids'' is the kind of movie that needs to be talked about afterward. It doesn't tell us what it means. Sure, it has a 'message', involving safe sex. But safe sex is not going to civilize these kids, make them into curious, capable citizens. What you realize, thinking about Telly, is that life has given him nothing that interests him, except for sex, drugs and skateboards. His life is a kind of hell, briefly interrupted by orgasms."
Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' called the film a "wake-up call to the modern world" about the nature of present-day youth in
urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...
life. Other critics have labeled it exploitative (in the lascivious sense) as borderline "
child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a ...
". Other critics derided the film, with the most common criticism relating to the perceived lack of artistic merit. Feminist scholar bell hooks spoke extensively about the film in ''Cultural Criticism and Transformation'': "''Kids'' fascinated me as a film precisely because when you heard about it, it seemed like the perfect embodiment of the kind of postmodern, notions of journeying and dislocation and fragmentation and yet when you go to see it, it has simply such a conservative take on gender, on race, on the politics of HIV."


Accolades

AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains *Telly - Nominated Villain


In popular culture

* American rapper Wale references ''Kids'' in his song titled "Legendary" from his album ''
Ambition Ambition, Ambitions or Ambitious may refer to: Music * ''Ambitions'' (One Ok Rock album), 2017 * ''Ambition'' (Tommy Shaw album), 2014 * ''Ambition'' (Wale album), 2011, or the title song * "Ambition", a song by Band-Maid from the 2021 album ...
''. * In August 2010, American rapper Mac Miller released the mixtape '' K.I.D.S.'', and its cover art, title, and some musical themes pay homage to the film. Some audio clips from the film are also part of the mixtape in between songs. * American rapper and record producer
Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...
references the film by name in " Guilty Conscience". In the second verse, he voices against the "guilty conscience" of a fictional character within the song who is about to commit statutory rape, a main theme in the movie. * Canadian R&B singer
The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, romance, and ...
described his childhood as "''Kids'' without the AIDS." * Metal band
Emmure Emmure () is an American metalcore band formed in 2003. Originally based in New Fairfield, Connecticut, before moving to Queens, New York, the group has released eight albums, with their first public release being a 2006 EP entitled '' The Comp ...
released a song on their album ''
Felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
'' called "I Thought You Met Telly and Turned Me Into Casper". * French rapper OrelSan has a line about the movie in the song "La Quête" where he says "J'ai 15 ans, je regarde Kids en boucle, je traîne avec des gars comme Casper", which can be translated to "I'm 15 years old, I watch Kids on loop. I hang out with guys like Casper"


Soundtrack

Creation of the film's soundtrack was overseen by Lou Barlow. #
Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...
– "Casper" # Deluxx Folk Implosion – "Daddy Never Understood" #
Folk Implosion The Folk Implosion is an American band founded in the early 1990s by Lou Barlow and John Davis. It was initially a side-project started by Barlow to explore different territory than that being canvassed with his primary band at the time, Sebadoh. ...
– "Nothing Gonna Stop" # Folk Implosion – "Jenny's Theme" # Folk Implosion – "Simean Groove" # Daniel Johnston – "Casper the Friendly Ghost" # Folk Implosion – "
Natural One "Natural One" is a song by the band The Folk Implosion. The song was written by Folk Implosion's lead member Lou Barlow and Orbit bassist Wally Gagel, who also produced the song. It was released as a single in 1995, and was featured on the sou ...
" #
Sebadoh Sebadoh () is an American indie rock band formed in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow, with multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein completing the line-up in 1989. Barlow co-created Sebadoh as an outlet for hi ...
– "Spoiled" # Folk Implosion – "Crash" # Folk Implosion – "Wet Stuff" # Lo-Down – "Mad Fright Night" # Folk Implosion – "Raise the Bells" #
Slint Slint was an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986. The band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Brian McMahan, guitarist David Pajo, drummer and vocalist Britt Walford, Todd Brashear (bassist on ''Spiderland''), and Etha ...
– " Good Morning, Captain"


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control 1995 films 1995 directorial debut films 1995 drama films 1995 independent films 1990s coming-of-age drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s teen drama films American coming-of-age drama films American independent films American teen drama films Films about drugs Films about rape Films about virginity Films directed by Larry Clark Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City HIV/AIDS in American films Killer Films films Film controversies in the United States Obscenity controversies in film Rating controversies in film Teensploitation 1990s American films