A very cool rock soundtrack energizes the comedy drama Summer Night upping it to an entertaining film. The story may be a bit recognizable, but the actors add characters that provide some romance, angst and a few twists to the ordinary. If you are in the mood for a dinner and a movie, then Summer Night should add a little energy to the “desert”.
The summer is waning and band members Jameson (Ellar Coltrane) and Seth (Ian Nelson) are heading for some personal problems. While Seth has received news that his girlfriend Mel (Analeigh Tipton) received a positive on her pregnancy test, Jameson has a first date with his new love Harmony (Victoria Justice). Both are in a dilemma, especially since Jameson’s on again off again girlfriend Corin (Elena Kampouris) is the door checker at the Alamo Club where he’s playing and taking Harmony. But, worse Seth has not committed to Mel and she’s not as happy as she should be.
Meanwhile another band member Jack “Rabbit” (Bill Milner) has been dating Lexi (Lana Condor) and a problem has arose due to a recent indiscretion that happened at a wedding reception she attended. Then there’s a new rocker in town Taylor (Callan McAuliffe) and he’s been accosted in the park and robbed. Bleeding he meets Dana (Ella Hunt) that sparks a good measure of chemistry between them. One night they all congregate at the Alamo where their bands Rain & Rivers, The Savings Plan and Barking Spiders are playing for one last gig and a lot of drinking.
The cast is stacked with recognizable up and coming actors like Analeigh Tipton who cut her baby teeth on Crazy, Stupid, Love, Victoria Justice who survived 56 episodes of TV’s “Victorious”, Justin Chatwin added his spark to 40 episodes of Showtime’s “Shameless”, Elena Kampouris was seen last year in TV’s “Sacred Lies” and Ellar Coltrane grew up in the movie Boyhood.
Summer Night has a kick-ass load of rock music and it gives the film a dynamite soundtrack and musical score. Bands/Groups/Solo like All Dogs, Badlucc, Destroyer, Ruby the Rabbitfoot, Diet Cig, Roadkill Ghost Choir, Deep State, Big Thief, Night Moves, FIDLAR, Girlpool and many more are either live on screen as one of the mock named bands or their music is featured in the film.
Summer Night has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains language, underage drinking, smoking and drug use. Not for the immature or underage.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good film for mature teens to thirties. (3.5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Ellar Coltrane, Ian Nelson, Lana Condor, Victoria Justice, Justin Chatwin,
Analeigh Tipton, Callan McAuliffe, Ella Hunt
Directed by: Joseph Cross
Written by: Jordan Jolliff
Genre: Comedy, Drama
MPAA Rating: Not rated, contains language, underage drinking, smoking, drug use
Running Time: 1 hr. 36 min.
Opening Date: July 12, 2019
Distributed by: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Released in: Standard, Color
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
