KICKING AND SCREAMING
Kicking and Screaming is definitively the most underrated Will Ferrell movie.
While at its surface seemingly an open and shut story about an aloof, doofus father connecting with his son, Kicking and Screaming - one of Judd Apatow's earliest projects - is actually a biting commentary on the lengths to which parents will push their children, same-sex adoption, immigrant stereotypes (Get the ball to the Italians!) and modern coffee culture - with a solid Mike Ditka performance and Will Ferrell's best child-punch since Old School to boot.
While soccer served, ostensibly, as the subject matter draw of the movie, it was in earnest just an athletic entry point in to a broader, more nuanced story.
Think of these Engineered Garments x Hoka One One Hupana shoes in the same way, as a means of opening the door for your simple-minded footwear friends to more than just running shoes.
No matter how stylish your crew, there's always that one guy who simply cannot be bothered with lacing up anything but a sneaker. Heading to a steakhouse for a couple's dinner? These Nikes pair perfectly (read: horribly) with some dark jeans and a button-down. Gearing up for a casual afternoon walking through the Arts District? Wouldn't you know it those same Nikes are perfect for walking - running, too!
You know there's no point in trying to get this guy to slip on a pair of Aldens, or even Common Projects, so you're going to have to Inception your way through this one. Here's the plan: next time you're supposed to hang out, tell him to come over to your place for a few beers before you head out to the bar/baseball game/Dave & Buster's/wherever sneakers are allowed. To bring things full circle - and to blow his mind in three years when you show him this article and he's swimming in $20,000 Visvim debt - distract him by throwing on Kicking and Screaming, and relax on the couch with your laptop nonchalantly open when he arrives. Oh! What a surprise! You just happened to have these EG Hupana shoes up on the screen and, now that you think about it, wouldn't they look great as his newest purchase?
It may take you a few minutes to work your better-dressed-friend magic, but by the time Will Ferrell shows up in a Ditka-matching Chicago Bears sweater your amigo will have just pulled the trigger on Summer 2018's dopest, most under-the-radar sneaker collaboration. With a solid purchase in hand you've chalked up a win this time, but only you have the power to make sure his future is more Step Brothers or Talladega Nights and less Land of the Lost.
Price: $130
Brand: Engineered Garments x Hoka One One
Store: Hoka One One (or Reggie Shop)
Why: Sometimes it's just not practical to walk around in $800 Japanese moccasins, or Python-patterned, side-lace shoes. Sometimes the adult inside you just needs a sensible sneaker to get from Points A to F, with the possibility of a brief jog between Points C and D left open. So when Engineered Garments, arguably the coolest Made in America brand operating today, collaborated with on six pairs of the Hoka Hupana - each with asymmetrical coloring or patterns across the left and right shoes - the door to both style and practicality was swung wide open. Just make sure you've got some energy left over from those jogs to correct all the people who tell you how much they love your Roshe Runs.