Fat Kid Rules the World is the story of a fat kid, a teenage hustler and a drum kit. It is observant where many are not because it was directed by punk aficionado Matthew Lillard. If you were into any kind of punk music in the 90s you probably came across the fantastic film SLC Punk. The 1999 film is about 20 somethings in Salt Lake City who are trying to figure out what it is to be a punk. The movie hit me at the right time and made a lot of sense. You didn’t have to dress like a punk to be a punk. What exactly was a punk?
SLC Punk went a different direction in its punkness. Nothing was black and white. Fat Kid Rules the World is similar in that it features some really neat relationships and family dynamics. The best part of this film is the relationship of the core family. Billy Campbell gives one of the best performances of 2012 as a tough father who loves his kids. He is tough but always has their best interests in order. Campbell’s father is a revelation amongst cinematic fathers. The patience he has with his large teenage son feel real. The Billings are good people who are still reeling from the death of their wife/mother. The younger brother is a star athlete and the oldest boy is a sad sack who eats too much and contemplates suicide. His attempt at killing himself via bus crunch is foiled when a teenage musician/conman rescues him from death. The two should be terrible for each other but instead start a band and help each other out. The changes are not drastic and that makes them believable.
The story never goes where you think it is going to go. Lillard has a great way with characters. The punk scene in Fat Kid feels real and the people who inhabit it I’ve met before. They are not hardcore angry little brats. They are kids who hang outside the system and have their own problems. There is a DIY aspect that many of them flock to. The movie does have it’s oddities though. For instance, the fat kid has odd visions that accompany him everywhere. These madcaps moments feel out of place amongst the grounded story. I understand why they are in the film but it adds a level of disjointedness.
I liked this film because Lillard adapted a popular book into a nice little film. Characters come first and because of this the odd visions are excused. It will find an audience and I know kids will latch onto it. It is a strange little thing but it never felt fake. The problems feel real and not overly melodramatic. I loved how when the loner finally finds a hobby his dad goes out and buys him a drum kit. The only rule is no playing after 10 PM. In a day and age of buffoon parents and precocious kids it is nice to see a realistic family dynamic and a legitimate punk scene.
