‘The Kings of Summer’ is Worth Your Attention

If you don’t yet know about The Kings of Summer it’s time to start paying attention. The film, which arrives in theaters Friday (though for a limited release) debuted at Sundance earlier this year and has building  grassroots buzz ever since. Really, though, after March’s teaser trailer, it’s hard not to be excited for this film.

The movie lacks true star power – Community‘s Alison Brie, Childrens Hospital‘s Megan Mullally, and Parks and Recreation‘s Nick Offerman are present, but in supporting roles – which could be contributing to it’s relatively low profile. As the above trailer suggests, the film centers on three teenage boys who “decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land,” according to the official synopsis. The protagonists are played by Moises Arias, Gabriel Basso, and Nick Robinson. While certainly none are household names, all three appear to be on the rise in Hollywood. Arias is best known as Rico Suave from Hannah Montana, but has played a number of minor film roles in recent years and will be in theaters twice more this year with parts in both Despicable Me 2 and Ender’s Game.  Basso, meanwhile, is a regular on the Laura Linney-starring The Big C on Showtime and Robinson is a key character on the ABC Family series Melissa and Joey.

As one might suspect, there’s a little more than a love of the wild at play here. In addition to showcasing some of the bigger name supporting stars, this full trailer reveals some of what drives these boys to seek escape in the woods.

The Kings of Summer is out this Friday.