Hunter needs his ass kicked!
Directed by: Peter Sollett
Written by: D. B. Weiss
Cast: Jaeden Martell, Adrian Greensmith, Isis Hainsworth
Swift shot: Are you Metal? Or are you just mental? Is there a difference? Apparently only some dork named Hunter can make that call. I felt like this was a mental health diagnosis test disguised as a coming-of-age teen comedy. But to be honest, isn’t that what being a teenager is like anyway? Metal Lords plays homage to some of the best metal heads while also riffing out some awkward cringedy. That’s my word; I made it up – because I am so fuckin’ metal!
Jaeden Martell is Kevin, a lonely awkward teenager who really has no personal ambitions. He signed up for the marching band just to avoid P.E. Unfortunately, the one constant in his life is his best friend, Hunter (Greensmith) who has become obsessed with heavy metal.
Hunter has had a rough life, ever since his mother left home and never came back. He’s blamed his father, Dr. Sylvester (Brett Gelman) almost every waking second of his miserable existence. He’s a poor rich kid with mommy issues who wants to take out all his anger and angst on society. How original, Hunter. Anyway, this kid is a royal prick. The only person he hasn’t actively pushed away is Kevin.
Kevin is a smart, capable kid, but he’s also chosen the wrong best friend . . . it happens. And because Kevin is loyal to the end, he puts up with way more shit from Hunter than any reasonable person should ever endure. But as a new member of their band enters the fray, Hunter will have to face the music and find out even Kevin has his limits.
Isis Hainsworth makes an iconic, epic entrance as Emily, a Scottish girl with serious mental health issues. Kevin is immediately smitten with her and her feral energy. While he initially thinks she’s this bad ass chick, there’s some real depth of character with Emily that makes her even more compelling and interesting.
Meanwhile, Hunter is convinced that their band, “Skull Fuckers” can win the Battle of the Bands and become metal gods like so many of their idols. Problem is, they don’t have a bassist, and whenever they get close to landing one, Hunter essentially takes a steaming shit on their heads. Have I mentioned that I don’t like Hunter?
Just because I basically loathed a character doesn’t mean I hated the film or even the story. As Kevin and Hunter do get a chance to evolve amidst the conflict stemming from the introduction of Emily. Her character was not fleshed out as much as I would have liked to see, but I got the gist of her deal . . . or ordeal, more aptly.
What I appreciated the most about Metal Lords was how it had some clichés, but then writer Weiss went out of his way to flip some of those clichés into some pretty funny scenes.
The movie feels like a typical eighties teen comedy, but there’s some sexual situations that get downright adult, as Kevin explores what it means to be a man in love in the twenty-first century.
I really appreciate that this new generation of actors has a genuine love of the past, as the present is such a fucked up shit-show of freaks and attention-seeking “influencers.” It must be weird being a teenager right now; I sure as Hell wouldn’t know what to think!
End of the day, if you love metal music, and if you love coming-of-age teen comedies, you’ll get a kick out of Metal Lords.
