The Kids of Widney High are at it again and after conquering concert across California for the past several years, they’re now bent on conquering the indie film scene. Judging from the output on this DVD, that may just happen.
For those of you unfortunate enough to not have ever heard of the Kids of Widney High (you really need to get out more), the Kids are a band of students from a special education school, Widney High in Los Angeles. At Widney High, the students are encouraged to participate in a musical program that has thus given life to the band The Kids of Widney High where the students write and perform their own songs with instrumental accompaniment from their instructors. Since the beginning of the band in 1988, the Kids have gone on to play clubs and concert venues all across California, mainly in Los Angeles. They’ve released a record on the notorious Ipecac label and have opened for such bands as Mr. Bungle.
Now, with this DVD, we get a taste of the Kids’ chops and improvisational skills. Two shorts are contained, one of which, “Denied Access,” plays like a “Waiting for Godot” style curiosity, while the other, “Dinner Time,” is the center of attention with several members of the Kids working and dining at Sisley in Sherman Oaks. The result of “Dinner Time” is genius with the Kids creating their own brand of mayhem. It’s basically a collection of different confrontations happening all at once and it’s so infectiously entertaining that you’ll want to watch it over and over again. Also on this DVD is a short doc on the Kids themselves, so for those of you just stepping into this pool, you can get some background on what you’re getting into. There’s even a message from the Kids to Governor John Kimble…I mean…Arnold Schwarzenegger in regards to his special education budget cuts. In 1999, Arnold fought Satan in “End of Days,” but recently, he’s been playing the role of Satan himself. Whose to blame? California. That’s what you get for voting a Hollywood actor into office, a******s!
I’ve seen the Kids play live and it’s an amazing experience. To me, the best part of their shows is watching the crowd go completely nuts. Even the most miserable person in the crowd will have a smile smacked across his face and it’s out of total respect and admiration. The Kids have been bringing the good times to people at musical venues for nearly 20 years, now it’s time for them to hit the big screen. This DVD is proof of that.
Many of the clips on this DVD can be found at the Kids’ official website.
