History YMMV / Kids

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: The movie's poster had teens in bright four-color filters laughing, smiling, and otherwise posing in a way that suggested nothing more dangerous than any other movie for late preteens from the 1990s. NeverTrustATrailer, indeed. This was probably intentional - the movie really was for late preteens, because its moral falls distinctly into that group. And the MPAA was all set to give ''Kids'' an NC-17 rating, but Miramax (already part of Disney) decided to release the film unrated instead.

** And of course a film depicting characters engaging in horrific sexual abuse being distributed by the Weinstein brothers...

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Critics at the time were horrified by the bleakness of the story; a protagonist who makes it his mission to take young girls' virginities, and in turn is revealed to have HIV and therefore unknowingly spreading it. He and his friends also beat up an adult in the skate park, which the screenwriter took from real life. It's something of a RunningGag for viewers to say they watched it as teenagers and didn't realise the true horror until they were older.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: What's going through Jennie's head when she [[spoiler:closes the door on Telly and Darcy's intercourse?]] [[YouAreTooLate Despair]] or [[TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest bitterness]]? You'd think the former, but she ''was'' told what they were doing upstairs, and [[spoiler:leaving a blatantly discomforted child to an older boy's ravishing]] is not a moment of grace.

** The film implies a morbid ending for Casper, [[spoiler: contracting HIV from raping the unconscious Jennie]]. It's even sadder when the viewer knows that his actor, Justin Pierce, committed suicide only a few years later.
** Likewise, the ring leader of beating the man to unconsciousness in the skate park is Harold - whose own actor would be dead a few years later as well.
** Telly is something of a popular character in-universe. Unfortunately it went the opposite way in real life for his actor Leo Fitzpatrick. He endured such backlash from people who didn't get that it was just a film that he had to move twice, and wasn't comfortable acting again until he was in his twenties.

** Rosario Dawson plays a of a sexually active girl who ''doesn't'' test positive for HIV. Ten years later, she's on the other side playing Mimi in the film version of ''{{Theatre/Rent}}''.
** Chloe Sevigny plays a girl who has only had sex once in contrast to a more promiscuous friend. Of course it's rather amusing in light of ''Film/TheBrownBunny'' - where she infamously performed unsimulated fellatio on camera!

* TheWoobie: Jennie is only a teenager, who's had sex just once, and contracted HIV from it. In 1995, this was practically a death sentence. All she can do is search the city in vain for Telly, and tell him he's got the disease. She's taken advantage of by multiple other characters [[spoiler: and never accomplishes her goal on-screen]].

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: What's going through Jennie's head when she [[spoiler:closes the door on Telly and Darcy's intercourse?]] [[YouAreTooLate Despair]] or [[TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest bitterness]]? You'd think the former, but she ''was'' told what they were doing upstairs, and [[spoiler:leaving a blatantly discomfited child to an older boy's ravishing]] is not a moment of grace.

** Rosario Dawson plays an IronicInversion of a sexually active girl who ''doesn't'' test positive for HIV. Ten years later, she's on the other side playing Mimi in the film version of ''{{Theatre/Rent}}''.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Critics at the time were horrified by the bleakness of the story; a protagonist who makes it his mission to take young girls' virginities, and in turn is revealed to have HIV and therefore unknowingly spreading it. He and his friends also beat up an adult in the skate park, which the screenwriter took from real life. It's something of a RunningGag for viewers to say they watched it as teenagers and didn't realise the true horror until [[AdultFear they were older]].

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: The movie's poster had teens in bright four-color filters laughing, smiling, and otherwise posing in a way that suggested nothing more dangerous than any other movie for late preteens from the 1990s. NeverTrustATrailer, indeed. This was probably intentional - the movie really was for late preteens, because SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped and its anvil falls distinctly into that group. And the MPAA was all set to give ''Kids'' an NC-17 rating, but Miramax (already part of Disney) decided to release the film unrated instead.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: The movie's poster had teens in bright four-color filters laughing, smiling, and otherwise posing in a way that suggested nothing more dangerous than any other movie for late preteens from the 1990s. NeverTrustATrailer, indeed. This was probably intentional - the movie really was for late preteens, because SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped and its anvil falls distinctly into that group. And the MPAA was all set to give Kids an NC-17 rating, but Miramax (already part of Disney) decided to release the film unrated instead.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The film is far from subtle but it does give a scarily accurate depiction of teen life (for some people anyway).

* Anvilicious: The film is far from subtle but it does give a scarily accurate depiction of teen life (for some people anyway).

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The film is far from subtle but it does give a scarily accurate depiction of teen life (for some people anyway).

* ValuesResonance: Teenage delinquency has stayed about the same if not worsened over the years, and ''Kids''[='=] representation of it seems a lot more relevant nowadays.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The film is far from subtle but it does give a scarily accurate depiction of teen life (for most people anyway).

* ValuesResonance: Teenage delinquency has stayed about the same if not worsened over the years, and ''Kids''' representation of it seems a lot more relevant nowadays.

* ValuesResonance: Teenage delinquency has stayed about the same if not worsened over the years, and this film's representation of it seems a lot more relevant nowadays.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped

* UnfortunateImplications: The girls in the film are depicted as being powerless and submissive. Those who are virgins are completely willing to give it up to Telly.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped

* NeutralEvil: Telly.