Product: Kids (1995)
Rating: 3.0
Don't Confuse This Fiction with Reality
As a former public school teacher in the South Bronx and long-time resident of East Harlem, I would advise readers of the accompanying naive reviews of Kids to remember that Kids is not a portrayal of the lives of the majority of New York's kids. Instead, it is a fictional pseudo-documentary involving the lives of a handful of amoral adolescents. Kids is a modern Clockwork Orange, but without the narrativity or theme; it a relatively dumbed-down and arguably irresponsible analysis of modern amorality. Kids in New York certainly face challenges in developing a sound sense of morality; they are surrounded with opportunities for instant pleasure, and often live in broken homes that allow them to explore these opportunities. But this film does not explore the challenging lives of such real New York kids.