Summer Love

I don't know why this film has such horrible reviews. I think it's a very relatable film. I watched the movie without looking at reviews prior to watching and I'm glad I did that otherwise I wouldn't have given the film the time of day. The film portrays a teen who doesn't know exactly what she wants in life or who she wants to be as a person. She struggles with controlling her emotions, and personal relationships while figuring out societal rules and how to be independent. I was 16 in 2006 and I acted very similar to the character, Jaime. Rebelling, using swear words, trying alcohol, being put in sexual situations, it's reminiscent of my teens. If I could NOT relate to the main character, I might think that the film is trashy, due to the language and sexual situations. However, I feel it did a great job at portraying how real teens behave.

I managed to watch this on Amazon streaming movies.

I had seen Joey King in a couple of other movies and find that she is a very interesting young actress, probably 18 or 19 during making of this movie. As the movie begins her voice-over states how forgettable summers tend to be. But not this one, the summer of 2003 when her old grandmother died.

She plays the role of 16-yr-old Jamie Winkle who is still a mostly good student and obedient daughter. But she happens to be at her grandmother's hospital bed when she dies, but not before revealing a series of "secrets" that she had been holding. This new information throws several things in complete disarray, and that makes 2003 memorable.

My only disappointment with the movie is that it closely follows the current trend in "teen" movies, the script is pretty well filled with filthy language and more sex and sex talk than is needed to tell this story. It muddies the main story which has family members reevaluate their relationships, and young Jamie learning about sex in mostly the wrong ways.

It could have been a much better movie.

As a movie buff, I've seen Joey King around enough to know who she was before walking into this movie. But THIS role was seemingly made for her. From beginning to end, she did a phenomenal job.... effortlessly portraying Jamie.... a 16y/o girl whose rather blunt... (or RUDE - depending on how you look at it) grandmother revealed quite a few "family secrets" on her deathbed. A couple of which sent this otherwise normal family spinning out of control.

Various coming of age themes were explored (love, loss, virginity, sex positivity, friendship, growth, overcoming fears, fights with parents & friends, unforgettable summers, etc) with just a little more bluntness and vulgarity than you might be used to... particularly coming from a female protagonist (this was a good thing... trust me).

The entire cast was awesome... they had great chemistry and there were several scenes that you could tell they had a lot of fun filming together. This was a great coming of age film that I enjoyed much more than I could've possibly imagined. Great job to writer/director Becca Gleason... she nailed this one!

It's the summer of 2003. Jamie Winkle (Joey King) and her family are sent into chaos when her dying grandmother Dotty (June Squibb) unveils a series of revelations. Baby Jamie had been baptized by Dotty without telling her Jewish mother Shira (Andrea Savage). Jamie is taken with Luke who is training to be a priest. March has an unrequited crush on her. Her best friend Emily is a fast girl from L.A.

This is a relatively standard coming of age dysfunctional family comedies about a hormone filled teen. This one is about a girl which comes with its own issues. I struggle with Jamie's likeability. She's struggling to know right from wrong and sex and all the big questions. Joey King is a hot girl looking for sex. It's never quite as funny as a geeky guy desperately trying to lose his virginity. Guys look stupid and the audience laugh at them. It's tougher to make girls struggle to have sex. The best that can be achieved is the girls having bad sex and Jamie isn't even doing that. There are still laughs to be had in this movie but whoever this Becca Gleason is, she has to figure out how to get more humor out of her comedies.

The story is surprisingly engaging! The protagonist is rebellious but she is really likable. I can relate to her situation and her feelings. The story telling is great as well. I really enjoyed this light hearted coming of age comedy.