King Kelly (2012) Reviews

• Louisa Krause is one actress to look out for

  utpal_das2013-01-05

  Louisa Krause... never heard of her, but what a fine actress... she really can make you hate Kelly. Kelly is the girl you want to be friends with, why? Maybe because she is the girl you would really love to make out with, but you know she wouldn't probably even know you, so you really would like to bitch about her as how much of a bitch she is where actually you would probably give an arm just to be friends. Well, at least that is the picture Louisa Krause completely drew out of the Kelly character. Louisa Krause really got to the skin of the character. Yes, the entire camera is like a POV, but not like those shaky hand held cameras where you kind of feel like pulling your hair out, so I have strong doubts if it was actually done by the iPhone she carried, it was made to look like that,, but I doubt that strongly. But the result was good, you are made to feel you are looking at a POV but it is nicely captured. The movie... well, "typical American" girl trying to be a internet star through her peep show and what follows for roughly 24 hours. The story is barely watchable, just a random 24 hours happening, but Louisa Krause makes it watchable. Like the other reviewer mentioned, it is a weird film, not really a comedy at all as mentioned in IMDb. There are naked scenes, drug use, sex and all, so strictly not watchable with children, difficult to say who the target audience is, looks more like the girls of 18 to 24 who are like the Kelly character. Watch the movie for Louisa Krause, she is really good. You might forget the movie, but you will not forget to hate King Kelly.

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• Troubled daughter of White Trash family gets in over her head

  ambrosia_12013-08-01

  It is difficult to review this movie without spoilers because it is so disjointed. The opening scene is an extreme closeup showing only the audio and text of an online sex chat between teenage Kelly and various older men that are paying for the privilege of watching Kelly "perform" for them. But this scene is deceptive because it's not what the movie is about. It is merely to introduce you to the life of a young girl that is pure "id" (or "superego") caring only about herself. Kelly wants to "go pro" by starting a webcam site of her own, but again, that's not what the movie is about. Early on, we are introduced to Kelly's dysfunctional White Trash family for some insight on just why young Kelly is so troubled. Friends, family, everyone that gets sucked into Kelly's self-involved world ends up worse for it. Following a falling out with her on-again/off-again boyfriend, Kelly finds herself in a world of trouble, turning to one of her online clients for help. Things continue to spiral out of control and you are taken for a ride on one of the worst nights of anyone's life. The acting isn't awful, and despite an amateurish script, is worth watching till the end, but don't go looking for "King Kelly" on Oscar night.

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• On the Hunt for Internet Stardom

  evanston_dad2014-01-20

  Be prepared to hate King Kelly. The character, that is, not the movie. Though possibly the movie too, depending on your tolerance for movies about spoiled brat kids with an unbearable sense of entitlement and a nonexistent grasp of reality and the consequences that come from behaving badly. You might also hate it if the idea of a movie filmed entirely on iPhones in shaky first-person and extreme close up sounds obnoxious. And if there is anything about "King Kelly" that tested my patience, it was this stylistic conceit that's been done to death and stops making narrative sense 10 minutes into the film. It's just not plausible that characters, even characters as obsessed with themselves as the ones who populate this movie, would be able to continue filming each other in any number of the situations in which they find themselves. Those situations include a car accident, a queasy sexual encounter with a state trooper and a shooting, along with lots of running around trying to track down a lost package of drugs. Other reviewers seem to be responding to "King Kelly" as if it's a zany satire not to be taken too seriously. But if this film was meant to be funny, it's attempts failed miserably, because I found it to be more akin to a horror movie than a screwball comedy. It's not a great film, but it does tap into something very authentic about the current world culture of self-made celebrity, in which people with no talent and nothing really interesting to say or relate can pretend to be the famous person they'd rather be by posting every last thought and action on the Internet for the world to see. It's a deeply depressing trend, one that highlights just how bored people are with their lives and how desperate they are to be seen and heard, no matter for what reasons. Grade: B+

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• Someone is dead, long live...

  punishmentpark2013-12-14

  'King Kelly' starts out pretty hot and titillating, but not before long it turns into some sort of a Blair Witch project, but filmed with only cellphones - how's about a camera on a tripod every now and then (in itself not necessarily a problem - BWP got away with it quite well)? Instead of a witch, the search is on for a bag of dope and in between people are celebrating the fourth of July, take assorted drugs and let the plot get out of hand, inch by inch, on a long and winding road. If things were somehow poignant and / or well-acted, I'd still be game, but unfortunately, no... even if the actors aren't doing too badly and some parts do have that 'diamond in the rough' quality to them. It's supposed to be a comedy (Imdb reference) - a satire of some sort? - but beyond one moment (''You're not even fat!'') I haven't laughed at all. 5 out 10, and I might be generous there.

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• If Movies Have a Future, This is IT !

  rondo8982013-02-13

  This is my favorite movie to come along since Memento. It is labeled as a comedy, but although there are hilarious scenes throughout, much of the movie is very intense, bordering on unpleasant. Yeah, yeah -- there's the T&A, but there's something more important here. What makes the movie for me, is that it is thoroughly and absolutely realistic. I have known selfish and manipulative people like Kelly (guys as well as girls), and I'm certain you have as well. I suspect that some of the negative opinions of this movie are really people instead mad at the character of Kelly, and that is because at no time while watching it will you realize that these are all actors reciting a script. The acting is so good that it creates an effective illusion that you are watching it all take place from someone's cell phone. The story is entirely plausible, the drug scenes are realistic, and I can imagine that something like this actually happened, even the part about the cop. This movie is definitely not for everyone. If you are entertained by the blockbuster special-effects-fantasy-superhero movies that Hollywood manufactures, you may not appreciate a movie in which there are no good guys to root for; a movie with no special effects and no happy ending. No one falls in love and rides off into the sunset as sentimental music swells up on the soundtrack. I'm amused that the credits list the lead actresses as "cameramen," but even if it wasn't shot entirely on an iPhone, the scenes are effectively done. If you are not averse to a dose of reality in a movie, here's a slice of not-so-squeaky-clean life among youth in suburbia. Highly recommended for the cynical.

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