Good Kids

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chris McCoy directs. Jimmy Lindsey behind the camera. Lucian Piane scores. Evan Henke cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
• 2Released 10 years ago.
• 3Directed by Chris McCoy, shot by Jimmy Lindsey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Lucian Piane. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Evan Henke shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Nicholas Braun and Zoey Deutch and Mateo Arias carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "Get ready for the summer of yes".
• 8IMDB entry: tt2170427 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 9Classified under 17 themes, including "self-discovery", "graduation", "life lessons", "social misfit".

The technical file

Cinematography

Jimmy Lindsey

Original score

Lucian Piane

Editing

Evan Henke

Production design

Kim Leoleis

Costume design

Mitchell Travers

Runtime

86 min · 1h 26m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Good Kids (2016) ↗

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official International Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Reno2017-07-30
  ★ 6/10

  The summer of YES! It was just like the British film 'Kids in Love' I'd seen prior to this. Explored only on a comedic side. Four friends who have been the ideal kids, after a few years later on one summer, before heading to the college, they have decided to accomplish everything they had missed in their life so far. So it's a time to blend in with what their kind do, but not as easy as it seems. Sometimes everything goes out of their proportion and some of them struggle at beginning itself. Overall, how their summer ends, in that, what they had gained and lost was told. Written and directed by a newcomer. Really very good try. Good comedies and well performed actors. The four lead characters were unique. The story around them was nicely built. But not they all were equally balanced. Most of the focus was on Nicolas Braun and then Zoey. I kind of felt the scenes were intentionally done, but worth an attempt. Slightly predictable film, which was like any Hollywood teenage flick. At a time a few things stretch beyond our anticipation. Might not be the best teen flick, though worth a watch. 6/10

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• CO

  Compadre Entertainment

• DE

  Depth of Field

  US

• 

  Voltage Pictures

  US

Key crew

• EditorEvan Henke
• CastingTineka Becker
• Music SupervisorLinda Cohen
• Costume DesignMitchell Travers
• EditorAmy P. McGrath
• Production DesignKim Leoleis

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• self-discovery
• graduation
• life lessons
• social misfit
• awkward situation
• wild parties
• end of high school
• summer adventure
• youth freedom
• first experiences
• nerdy students
• party crowd
• new relationships
• breaking the rules
• teen rebellion
• friendship challenges
• summer parties

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2016-10-21R

Also known as

International titles

• Nerds, Bebidas e CurtiçãoBR
• Good Kids - Apfelkuchen war gesternDE
• Хорошие детиRU