Another Sundance Film Festival 2025 favorite has just received its first trailer ahead of a fall release:If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. If such an unconventional title isn’t enough to capture audiences' interest, perhaps the intense trailer will. There has been plenty of buzz surrounding the movie since its film festival premiere, not just forRose Byrne’s revelatory performance, but also because of the interesting supporting cast, which includes the likes ofConan O’Brienand A$AP Rocky. Now, this first trailer teases plenty of mystery and intrigue in what looks to be a cleverly written drama.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick Youhas a simple enough premise: “With her life literally crashing down around her, Linda attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist.” Bryne’s character faces numerous problems simultaneously in this first trailer, from her ceiling collapsing in her home to juggling a stressful job. One of the most entertaining parts of the trailer, however, is Byrne’s scenes with O’Brien.
O’Brien plays Byrne’s combative therapist, with several scenes in the trailer showing the comedian and formerLate Nighthost dryly delivering passive-aggressive advice. Most ofConan O’Brien’s filmographyhas the actor playing a version of himself, so his latest role inIf I Had Legs I’d Kick Youis an intriguing one, especially since it’s a much more subdued comedy than what O’Brien has been so well known for. There’s also the inclusion of A$AP Rocky, whose role is still mostly unknown at this point, though the rapper fits right in with the rest of the cast.
Thanks to its Festival screenings,If I Had Legs I’d Kick Youalready boasts an impressive 93% critic rating on the review aggregate websiteRotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus for the film states that it is “liable to leave audiences in a cold sweat,” praising the director, Mary Bronstein (who also wrote the film), for her “uncompromising vision.” All the reviews seemingly agree on one thing as well: that Byrne delivers a phenomenal performance that elevatesthe already impressive script.
Besides its premiere at Sundance,If I Had Legs I’d Kick Youwould go on to screen at the Berlin Film Festival, where Byrne won an award for best lead performance. Now that A24 has acquired the film for distribution, it is certain to receive a creative marketing campaign, as the New York-based production company and distributor plans a theatrical release of the movie in October. A24 has another major release planned that month, with Benny Safdie’sThe Smashing Machineset for release on October 3.
Bronstein talked toDeadlinein an interview at Sundance about the conception of the film, saying, “The seed of it came from me having a very stressful experience with my daughter’s health when she was 7 years old. The way I started dealing with it at the time was that I started writing this movie with no expectation of what it would be.” The movie looks to be an incredibly personal one, which will hopefully captivate audiences when it’s released in theaters this fall.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
