Product: Kids (1995)
Rating: 5.0
A refreshing dose of reality
With the arguable exception of occasional movies such as "Thirteen," virtually all teen-oriented films are laughably sanitized compared to the shocking realism of "Kids." Although technically a work of fiction, "Kids" has the look and feel of an in-your-face documentary. As such, it shows just how animalistic and self-destructive kids can (and often do) become in the absence of good parenting.Though some might consider that last statement a bit "preachy," it is not intended to be. It is simply an observation of cause-and-effect. Why else would a kid like Telly (played brilliantly by Leo Fitzpatrick) be so obsessed with deflowering 13-year-old virgins? Why else would the lives of the other kids portrayed in the film be so deeply entrenched in the non-stop pursuit of heartless sex and reckless drug use? And why, through it all, would they be so completely indifferent and oblivious to the consequences of their actions?These are questions that "Kids" raises but thankfully does not attempt to answer. That is for the viewers themselves to do, hopefully with the realization that this movie is not nearly the exaggeration that many naive parents want so desperately to believe it is.