The greatest movie ever made..!

Instant Favorite.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Man, I hate to say anything good about a film with James Woods in the credits, my personal choice as Hollywood's most irritating and unlikable actor since Victor Mature. However, he's only got a bit part, thank god, and he plays a consumate loser(not much of a stretch) so I will gleefully throw this one a prop. I don't know where all these lousy votes are coming from. I guess people tuned out early from all the existential angst our main character, Kevin Corrigan, is bleeding all over the place. Michael Rapaport is hysterical as an enthusiastic Irish gun toting beer distributor at war with more ethnic gun toting beer distributors. Basically the same role he played in True Romance but this time he's on crack. I think I counted about 700 beers in his refrigerator? I also noticed that nobody in this movie can shoot worth a s#@t. Spoilers ahead: Have you ever seen anybody empty an entire clip from a Desert Eagle at 3 feet and hit nothing but the sky? This movie is inventive, witty, and just downright hilarious. Worth a second look. The final scene had me simultaneously rolling on the floor and searching for an airsick bag. Funny funny funny! A solid 9 beer salute.

"Kicked in the Head" is all about the Corrigan character, a twenty something man on a quest to find himself, and his involvements with a handful of quirky characters. This thin and ambiguous story, which was written by Corrigan, has a make-it-up-as-you-go feel and a screenplay which smells like an uninspired low budget indie. In spite of that and some annoying Hindenburg scene interjections, the film has an off beat, quirky kind of charm which may appeal, in some small way, to people with a similar sense of humor. Not for everyone, not for most, but maybe fun for some. (D+)

The dialog in the movie is clever, with amusing use of fast talking and repetition. Some of the "philosophical" speeches were good too, particularly one where the main character (Redmond) was warned about stewardesses' body rhythms. The violent scenes seemed to be parodies of action movies; lots of shots fired without hitting anyone. There were a few visually amusing images worked in too.The plot was mostly aimless. Redmond had no job or apartment, but a girl was interested in him anyway. He had few goals other than working on his book and getting noticed by a flight attendant who interested him. Along the way, Sam got him mixed up with some criminals. Redmond's uncle, Sam, observed that Redmond was in a self-destructive period in his life.So while the plot was pretty weak, the dialog was pretty funny.

This is a film that really drives home the point that, alas, morning always comes.One of the best indie flicks I've seen in a long time, and nearly on par with one of my favorites, "Floundering".In fact, there is an argument to be made that "Kicked in the Head" is an East Coast take on many of the same weird experiences as "Floundering". Both films have a 'mob spin', people who get shot at but don't die, an 'older woman' as a love interest, cameos by great actors, difficult relatives, and solid, if slightly bemused protagonists. Both films are really modern retellings of "Candide", with the LA Riots and the Hindenburg disaster serving as the "Lisbon Earthquake" of "Floundering" and "Kicked in the Head" respectively. Although the search for the truth in "Kicked in the Head" gets a touch abbreviated, well, let me just say, if Linda Fiorentino wanted to wrap me up that way, I'd relax and enjoy it.Both films are more interesting and fulfilling quests for the truth than "Dogma", which rather overplayed its hand. They ain't Hal Hartley, but they are definitely worth the rental, for the mental stimulation and occasional guffaws they engender.