Before 'The Boys,' Erin Moriarty Had Her Big Break in This Coming-of-Age-Comedy

While it was released to relatively little fanfare in the summer of 2013, the independent coming-of-age dramedy The Kings of Summer ended up having a significant impact on the careers of many of its key collaborators. The film’s director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, went on to kickstart Legendary’s MonsterVerse with his work on Kong: Skull Island, a film that is still heralded as one of the best in the series. It also featured a breakout role for Nick Robinson, who would go on to star in commercial hits such as the LGBTQ dramedy Love, Simon, and the first entry in the Jurassic World trilogy. Despite playing a relatively small role in the film, future The Boys star Erin Moriarty would also have her breakout role with an integral performance in The Kings of Summer.

Of all the characters that have broken out on Prime Video’s subversive superhero series, Moriarty’s performance as Starlight has certainly been a fan favorite. Despite being one of the show’s most powerful characters, Starlight is empathic to a fault, and chooses her relationship with Hughie (Jack Quaid) over opportunities to advance within The Seven. Moriarty showed that she could take the most extraordinary character and bring her down to Earth. The Kings of Summer indicated that Moriarty could deliver a mature performance as a character faced with challenging decisions.

What Is 'The Kings of Summer' About?

The Kings of Summer follows teenager Joe Toy (Robinson), who begins to have a series of climactic arguments with his father, Frank (Nick Offerman). While Joe recognizes that being a single parent is a challenge for his father, he can’t help but feel that Frank has been overly controlling, and given him few opportunities to be independent. In an act of rebellion, Joe decides to abandon civilization and live in the woods with his best friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso) and their new acquaintance, Biaggio (Moisés Arias). Moriarty co-stars as Joe’s crush Kelly, who he invites to stay with them once they’ve built their own home in the wilderness. Despite being initially impressed, Kelly begins to grow suspicious about the sustainability of Joe’s new “paradise.”

Moriarty adds an important female perspective to a film that is inherently about male fantasy. Initially, Joe believes that simply being away from his father and his rules is enough. He doesn’t take the time to consider that freedom also comes with responsibility. Once Kelly becomes part of his life, Joe begins to realize that he may have deeper aspirations. Kelly may be charmed by his unorthodox living quarters, but she’s not interested in staying with him long-term if he’s going to avoid civilized society for the rest of his life. While The Kings of Summer is very much Joe’s coming-of-age story, Kelly is essential in getting him to make revelations about how he wants to spend the rest of his life.

Moriarty’s arrival in the film changes the film's direction, as she is the first to indicate to Joe, Patrick, and Biaggio that what they’re doing may have consequences beyond what they can see in front of them. Not only are they putting themselves in physical danger, but they’re leaving behind families that are worried about them. Moriarty shows the difficult position that this puts Kelly in. On one hand, she admires the work that these three friends have done to create a positive home for themselves that is not dominated by rules and regulations. On the other hand, she recognizes that they are without any mentors that could guide them, and could very easily turn embittered and reclusive. She handles this moral quandary quite well, allowing the initially charming comedy to begin addressing some darker themes.

Erin Moriarty Had a Mature Coming-Of-Age Story in 'The Kings of Summer'

The attention may squarely be on Joe and his friends, but Moriarty is able to show how Kelly’s coming-of-age arc mirrors that of the male characters. Kelly’s most critical moment comes in the aftermath of a dispute with Joe, who lashes out at her aggressively after suspecting that she is impeding on the perfection of his home. This inspires Kelly to reach out to Frank, knowing that Joe needs someone who can support him. Moriarty shows how heartbreaking this is for Kelly, and while she doesn’t want to “betray” someone that she cares about, she understands that Joe has lost any sense of self-awareness.

Although the film addresses some fairly crushing themes about growing up, Moriarty adds a healthy dosage of humor to The Kings of Summer. Kelly’s reaction to the strange living parameters of Joe’s new home are quite amusing, as Moriarty tries to be both respectful and incredulous. Considering that much of the film’s humor is slapstick in nature, it’s impressive that Moriarty was able to add a more latent sense of comic relief.

'The Kings of Summer' Prepared Moriarty for 'The Boys'

The Kings of Summer showed that Moriarty could give an emotional and grounded performance as a character who feels uncomfortable in an unfamiliar environment. In the first season of The Boys, Starlight becomes an instantly likable character because she serves as the audience’s avatar. It’s through her perspective that the viewers learn that the Deep (Chace Crawford) is an abuser, Homelander (Antony Starr) is a murderer, and that Vought is a deeply corrupt institution that performs insidious experiments. It’s Moriarty’s characterization of fear and disgust that makes The Boys’ most shocking moments even more haunting.

Moriarty also proved with The Kings of Summer that she could stand out within a cast dominated by men. The Boys certainly deals with complex themes of toxic masculinity and abuse, but Moriarty’s depiction of female trauma has been a major part of what has given the series such longevity.

Moriarty Wasn’t the Only Breakout Star of ‘Kings of Summer'

As impressive as it was to see what Moriarty was able to do with her relatively limited screen time, Kings of Summer was a breakthrough film within the careers of many young stars, as it was the type of coming-of-age story that was intended to connect with adolescent audiences. Nick Robinson’s lead performance introduced him as a promising star capable of being both dramatically compelling and hilarious at times, and was able to secure a role in Jurassic World, which became one of the biggest box office hits of all-time. Although Robinson did not reprise his role in either of the sequels, he went on to create another coming-of-age favorite with the high school comedy Love, Simon, which was praised for addressing the struggles that LGBTQ teenagers faced in a respectful way. In addition to supporting roles in the horror thriller Shadow in a Cloud and the fantasy epic Damsel, Robinson was able to showcase his range on prestige television due to his work on the acclaimed shows Maid and A Teacher.

Gabriel Basso’s role in Kings of Summer was also hailed as a transformative role, as it helped him venture on a steady path of supporting roles before he reached mainstream success. Basso has previously appeared in the J.J. Abrams science fiction adventure Super 8, but Kings of Summer was a better showcase for the full extent of his personality. He may have suffered from the backlash to the controversial Netflix biopic Hillbilly Elegy, but exploded thanks to the success of the streaming series The Night Agent. The series was hailed as one of the best drama shows in recent memory, and managed to score a season three renewal before the second installment was even released. The Night Agent has understandably taken up a majority of his time, but Basso also delivered an emotionally gripping performance as a wrongfully convicted defendant in Juror #2, an excellent courtroom thriller that is likely to be the last film that Clint Eastwood ever directs.

Kings of Summer was also notable for giving dramatic roles to actors best known for their comedic work, with Nick Offerman’s performance being the standout. Offerman will always be associated with his beloved role as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, but Kings of Summer indicated that he could handle much more emotionally draining material. Kings of Summer was a film that still allowed Swanson to have some traces of humor, but he would go on to take on roles that were not funny in the slightest. The most acclaimed work of his career thus far has been his guest role in the first season of The Last of Us, as the standout episode “Long, Long Time” has been hailed as one of the best of the last few years. The performance managed to be a standout within a series filled with great actors, and signified that Offerman would continue to take on roles that challenged notions about the types of characters he was capable of playing.

The Kings of Summer is available to rent on Amazon in the U.S.

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