Growing up is hard enough. Trying to understand the social cues of life is a hard challenge in and of itself. When you start to add in what your body does doing puberty and how it takes its toll psychology as well as physically. Well, that’s a whole other story to be told. Like I said, growing up is hard enough already. Throw in things like bullying and it makes that hard task all the harder. According to stopbullying.gov, most of the bullying a child will experience happens most in middle school. Bullying happens for every one in three to four kids. Now with our current technical age, bullying is even easier with cyberbullying.
From a victim of bullying, I experienced depression, doubt, questioning and even self-mutilation. Bullying can lead to many avenues including suicide, depression, addiction or self-harm. While, we are here to talk about an 80s movie from Friday the 13th co-creator, Sean S. Cunningham – please reach out or check out our resources if you or someone you know is experiencing bullying. Open up about it because it matters and because you matter. Now, back to your regularly scheduled review of The New Kids.
Five years after his surprise success with Friday the 13th co-creator, Sean S. Cunningham, went on to tell a story about two army kids (Shannon Presby, Lori Loughlin), who move to Florida to live with their uncle after the death of their parents. Once there, they experience intense bullying led by James Spader. Let’s talk about James Spader. They say that sometimes your movie can live or die with your antagonist. Spader, even at a young age, possess such a presence about himself on screen. There is an utter intensity that Spader has about himself that only goes deeper and darker as the film develops itself. By the time, viewers reach the climatic ending of the movie, Spader is completely unhinged. You can’t take your eyes off him. He crafts an intensity and unsettling layer to the film. While he does have a small army of henchmen that stand behind him, Spader is really the only one who demands your attention.
The henchmen feel two-dimensional and filler until we are reconnected with Spader. Our protagonists in Presby and Loughlin carry themselves with grace. However, they never really rise to the level of power as Spader. Both are very much in the middle ground. Neither are either strong or weak – they just seem to exist in the middle ground. Not great but not terrible. However, its’ where the film starts to fade into its forgettability. The henchmen of Spader, a family at its core that never really develops past the death of their parents, even the motivation for the villain – only feed into that. Perhaps, the biggest crime against this film though is its tonal inconsistencies. New Kids does a really good job at creating an intense environment but it feels like it exists with training wheels. Every time the movie starts to get a bit heavier, it feels like someone is standing by with the on/off switch to turn on the safety. Large portion of that comes from its random montages littered throughout. The montages are always littered throughout with super upbeat music. A severe product of its time in the 1980s.
Overall, The New Kids, while home to some true intensity, never really reaches its true potential. The film operates within its training wheels, thanks to its signature 80s montages equipped with super upbeat music. It’s within these sequences that a lot of the film’s tonal inconsistencies start to manifest. Aiming to be bold but failing slightly short. A strong performance from James Spader gives The New Kids a solid strength for its intensity. Spader’s arc is fascinating to watch unravel and completely electrifying by the film’s end. The protagonist siblings in Shannon Presby & Lori Loughlin – while never reaching the level of Spader – still are formidable foes. Though, once again feeds into the safety of the film. The New Kids has a fun time to give but it’s probably not a film that you may remember.
RORSCHACH RATING:
And more importantly, if you or someone you know is struggling with suicide, addiction, self-harm or depression - please free feel to reach out. Use any of our resources, call the suicide lifeline (1-800-273-8255) or text 741-741.
Music by Beggars. The New Kids is property of Columbia Pictures and Mill Creek Entertainment. We do not own nor claim any rights. To pick up, your copy of The New Kids from Mill Creek Entertainment, click here.