The Kings Of Summer review

Royally fed-up with living under their parents’ roofs and rules, best mates Joe (Nick Robinson) and Patrick (Gabriel Basso) turn runaways, building a makeshift shack in the woods.

First-timers Jordan Vogt-Roberts (director) and Chris Galletta (writer) march on well-worn terrain with fresh confidence; their coming-of-ager dishes up laughs and lyricism, sweetness and surrealism.

Like the boys’ home away from home, it’s a bit ramshackle: the Malick-y montages evoking endless summers can feel, well, endless.

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But it puts hilarity on repeat too, and the kids are superb – the ups and downs of the Joe/Patrick friendship ring true, while oddball Moises Arias steals scenes left, right and off-centre.