Fighting Change ‘Kicking And Screaming’ Characters Dig In Their Heels Against Taking Plunge Into Adulthood

When the specter of approaching adulthood can be seen bearing down full throttle, most everyone experiences a moment when they want to say, “Whoa, baby, I’m not ready for this!”

That, in short, is the theme behind writer-director Noah Baumbach’s appropriately titled debut feature “Kicking and Screaming,” which opens Wednesday.

The setting is collegeville, U.S.A., and those troublesome first few months after graduation comprise the time frame. For instead of heading off to start their adult lives, Grover (Josh Hamilton) and his three best friends are still hanging on, pretending as if nothing has changed.

But, of course, change has occurred, which is the film’s ongoing joke. For one thing, Grover’s girlfriend Jane (Olivia d’Abo) has gone to Prague - and he is too afraid to join her. Max (Chris Eigeman) just sits around talking to himself until a teenage cafeteria worker (Cara Buono) revives his adolescent enthusiasm.

Otis (Carlos Jacott) is all set to attend graduate school in Milwaukee, assuming he doesn’t get a job at the local video outlet. And Skippy (Jason Wiles) continues the activities that have engaged him for four years - drinking, playing trivia, jamming with his girlfriend Miami (Parker Posey) - even as his life is beginning to outgrow him.

The energy of “Kicking and Screaming” is provided by each of these characters coming to the edge of the diving board of life - and then desperately holding on as they feel the fearful pull of the deep end.

This reluctance to move on is bound, in various degrees, to annoy most filmgoers (maybe because it feels so familiar). Blocked by a Woody Allen-type inability to act, each of the male characters - who are, mostly, intelligent types - can come across as spoiled, self-indulgent boors.

And, in fact, compared to the women in their lives, they are. Jane and Miami are getting on with their lives, while Kate is a self-directed high-school student who, in one of the film’s funniest scenes, isn’t afraid to confront a macho bowhunter over a disputed parking space.

But in a manner reminiscent of other young American filmmakers such as Whit Stillman (“Metropolitan”) and Richard Linklater (“Dazed and Confused”), 25-year-old Baumbach captures the pathetic nature of his characters’ personalities without sacrificing humor. In fact, humor is at the heart of “Kicking and Screaming.”

It’s funny when Otis continually denies something, such as the day he is caught wearing mascara, then ruefully admits that it’s true. It’s funny when Skippy makes the most obvious remarks, then follows them by saying, “If you know what I mean.”

It’s even funny, as well as heart-wrenching, when Grover, grasping at his one moment of courage, tries to persuade an airlines ticket clerk to sell him a ticket to Europe.

What makes “Kicking and Screaming” more than just another stupid look at twentysomething life is the fact that Baumbach doesn’t rely solely on humor to make his point. He comes up with bittersweet sentiment, too, as well as heartbreak.

In the end, it’s not clear what will happen. Maybe Grover and his friends will never leave town (in the fashion of Chet, played by Eric Stoltz, who has become virtually a professional student). Maybe they will. Maybe they’ll even go and return.

Whatever, they’ll do only what they’re capable of and only when they’re ready. And they’ll likely continue kicking and screaming as they go.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: “KICKING AND SCREAMING” *** Location: Magic Lantern Cinemas Credits: Written and directed by Noah Baumbach, starring Josh Hamilton, Chris Eigeman, Carlos Jacott, Jason Wiles, Eric Stolz, Olivia d’Abo, Cara Buono, Parker Posey and Elliott Gould Running time: 1:38 Rating: R