Knock 'Em Dead, Kid is the first film from NYU graduate Christopher Golon. Remember that name, because he will be a huge success in the years to come.
FILM- Brett is 19, in a relationship, and has just been accepted to NYU. His life is as success story to any post- grad. One night, along with his friends, Brett beats the man their friends accused of rape; leaving him hospitalized. Soon, Brett pushes his steady girlfriend aside to be with an admirer , Trish. She's a sophomore, leading to his nervousness about her. When the allure of forbidden fruit latches onto Brett, his relationship is ruined, and a new one begins. But that's not all that begins to crumble; with a detective on his back about the assault and the town youth about to erupt on the corrupt cops, this provides for one interesting summer.
What I really like about this movie is despite a non existent budget and technical problems, it feels real. The characters are natural teens. Movies like Havoc are atrocious to me, because the kids in them are fictional, and feel that way. Kids is another film like this, but feels far fetched. The characters are possible, but not every school has a Telly or a Jennie. EVERY school has the characters in this movie. I'm friends with people like this, I hate some people like this, but they're in my environment. While not as extrema as some coming of age films, this one is incredibly realistic; not feeling boring in the least, and not loosing you with scenarios you know will never happen. Despite the roughness of the final product, I think Golan did an amazing job with this film; and the budget proves you can do so much with so little. 8/10.
Distribution is currently being looked for by Golan, so no DVD news in in the works yet. If you happen to stumble across this at a film festival don't hesitate to see it!
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