Age of Summer

Literally dozens of coming of age movies set on Southern California beaches have been made since the surf culture took off in the 1960's. This one features a 13 year old boy nicknamed Minnesota (Percy Hynes White of The Gifted) who recently moved to LA and is training to be a junior life guard. He struggles to adapt to the rigors of the job and to be accepted amongst the slightly older, cooler locals also training. His fancy bike is stolen and he embarks on a quest to get it back they leads to some interesting if slightly weird plot twists.

There was an annoying niggle with the part Diamaid Murtagh played as the Australian surf lifesaving coach. Having lived 2 years in, and travelled frequently to, Australia, I can tell you that no Australian uses their slang words jammed awkwardly back to back into the same sentence as the script writers manage with this character. It's as if they looked up a book of Aussie slang and inserted a slang word in at every opportunity. It made for a lampoonish dialogue to anyone familiar with Australians.

This is most definitely a B grade movie with only average acting and not a strong plot line. Percy Hynes White does an OK job but comes across as a scrawny fish-out-of-water in the tough physical world of surf lifesaving as does his nerdy friend Woods (Jake Ryan). There is the obligatory awkward first relationship scenes that actually were quite well done. Compared to others in this genre, it's a very average movie.

A coming of ager. There are no big moments, but a series of small ones. It's the type of movie in which any of the cast or crew might move onto bigger and better things and you'll look back and say, "yeah, I saw that coming."

A warm, heart touching retro piece that will take everyone back to that special summer of their youth. Set in a quiet Cali beach town, it brings together a cast of seasoned veterans and fresh new faces that come together perfectly in their roles. The cinematography is spot on and makes you feel like you experienced the challenges of life with them. Percy Hynes White, who is truly coming into his own in so many genre, is spot on perfect in his role as Minnesota, struggling to discover who he is and fit in and he shines as a future star. Jack Ryan is the classic nerd and nails his role. Charlotte Sabina rounds out of the cast with her complex but grounded surfer girl. If you're looking for that perfect summertime movie to chill with, this is it.

With such high ratings I was intrigued since I fall into that mid 80's group of teenagers. Unfortunately this was a childish effort which was neither funny nor emotional. The scenes didn't fit together as a symbiotic whole. I don't rate many movies but when I see movie makers blatantly hype up the reviews for the sake of ratings, I try to help out with some real reviews. This can be easily avoided.

This will remind everyone of their favorite summer. The movie is beautifully shot in a California beach town and in the ocean in a way that makes you feel you just spent your summer there. The story is universal. Funny and real and surprisingly emotional. The kid actors are excellent. Percy Hynes White is perfect as the kid trying to fit in. Jake Ryan is funny as a nerd. Charlotte Sabina gets her confident but complicated surfer girl character just right. I highly recommend.