And Then Came Summer

I have to feel a bit of sadness for the producers, cast and crew of 10% Productions "And Then Came Summer." I mean, their hearts were all in the right place... they wanted to make a nice, light, coming-of-age story about two boys who, very naturally, fall in love. The idea is sweet, and the intentions are good. The outcome, however, is a vastly different matter. Unfortunately, "And Then Came Summer" falls into just about every trap that face amateur filmmakers face. The script is an unsubstantial mess, with no build, no interesting dialogue and non-existant character development. The acting is really poor all the way around - either totally wooden or completely overdone, often times both in the same scene. The camerawork is attrocious; certain scenes were filmed so ineptly that it literally made the film difficult to watch. The inclusion of Anthony J. Domingues as the younger brother is perhaps the worst casting mistake in the history of Hollywood... this kid looks not a the thing like his father and older brother (was he adopted or something? If so, the script never gets around to mentioning it.) And, most of all, the film's treatment of women is borderline offensive... the caring aunt is a pie-baking marm so sweet that I almost lapsed into diabetic shock, and the brief appearance by the gossipy neighbor is so dense it's nearly laughable. It used to be enough to simply make a "gay movie." But (thankfully) there are more and more films in the gay genre being made. This ups the ante, and slapping together a film like "And Then Came Summer" just doesn't cut it anymore. Budget be damned, a film needs to be ABOUT something. It needs to still be well-acted and directed professionally. And it needs to draw in the audience with a script and characters that are pertinent and revelatory. This films tries, but, sadly, achieves none of these benchmarks. It's too bad... I really wanted to like this film!

Not much to add to much of what other reviewers have said, although I was more forgiving than some. Dialog is stilted and acting mediocre and uneven. But I'm a sucker for a coming of age gay story lines.

I cannot begin to explain so that others will realize how BAD this movie is. On a recommendation I rented this (unfortunately my list of movies to watch doesn't tell me who told me to see them, or I'd never speak to them again). It was AWFUL. The acting was very amateur (that's an insult to amateurs actually, I've seen some home movies that are better than this); The directing is almost nonexistent: two characters are often scrunched together (on a couch or standing) so closely so they fit in the frame-- looks very unnatural. The story... hah! I think most of it was adlibbed... and quite poorly. Most of the dialogue is so forced and fake that it's sickening... and to top it off, most of the dialogue doesn't relate to the story AT ALL. Definitely one of the worst I have ever seen. 1/10 only because we can't give zeros.

It's really sad that this film is so horrible. It's obvious that a lot of love, care, and energy went into the making of it. The actors, according to the extras on the DVD, really loved the venture, putting a great deal of themselves into this film. Problem is the script is dreadful, with a few exceptions the acting is horrible, and the direction is so poor that you'll walk away from this film wishing for your time and your money back.

The main problem is that all the good things in the story -- the abduction, the relationship between the brothers and the fathers and the teens in love -- are just plopped down in front with no sense of drama, care, or even thrill. The most interesting bit of the movie, the abduction of one of the characters, wasn't even in the theatrical release according to the DVD. What could have gotten the film off to a bang and left the audience curious, wondering what was going on, invested in the film, never happens. We're left wondering what went wrong with the writing, the directing and everything else.

Jesse Petrick just isn't up to the task of carrying the film. He's -acting- the whole time without an honest note to his performance. Mathieu Smith does an admirable job with his more complicated role. For a first timer, he walk away with his scenes with Petrick. It's a shame that Smith hasn't, as far as IMDB says, had any more work.

Overall, wait for cable. Then hold your breath. The movie is a lot better if you are oxygen deprived and hallucinating good performances and a script that makes sense.

I can't decide what the worst (best?) part of this movie was. The music? The single camera shots? The dialog? Oh my god...It's like a train wreck that goes on for 80 minutes.

And why don't the dads get it on? What kind of straight guys sit around drinking white wine listening to Chopin? What!?!?

Even Lifetime wouldn't take this movie. 10 line minimum? OK, how about this: -This movie is horrible. -And not in a good way. -I'm not sure I can make it to the end

It's almost like one of those movies that's in french but they just dubbed over it in English.