Film Review: SUMMERING (2022): Director James Ponsoldt Returns with a Watchable Story of Four Young Friends

Summering Review

Summering (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by James Ponsoldt, written by Benjamin Percy and James Ponsoldt and starring Lia Barnett, Sanai Victoria, Madalen Mills, Eden Grace Redfield, Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper, Ashley Madekwe, Megan Mullally, Dale McKeel, Yolanda Stange, Colleen Baum, Nick Mathews, Lu Prickett and Camrey Bagley Fox.

Summer’s not over quite yet and filmmaker James Ponsoldt has a new seasonally themed film called Summering that has flown under many people’s radars. That is unusual because he is the man who made the terrific 2013 drama, The Spectacular Now. I don’t peek at too many reviews until I actually see a given movie so I had no idea what the movie was about. It’s easy to understand why audiences have compared it to the 1986 film, Stand by Me. Summering, however, is different not only because it’s about young girls instead of boys but because it focuses on a lot of other subjects which were not showcased in the 1986 movie. That earlier picture is a better film but it’s ultimately not fair to compare them too much. Ponsoldt’s new film is about the last days of fun for four young girls during the late summer before they start middle school. All four of the girls are equally personable to watch.

Megan Mullally (always reliable) appears as Stacie, the mother of the wise beyond her years Mari (Eden Grace Redfield) who is headed to Catholic school. In one of the most fun scenes of the movie, Mari tries to get Stacie to excuse her from going to church. It seems Stacie told her she could skip mass twice over the summer and Mari has only been absent once. The technicality of promises is cute to behold in this scene.

Lake Bell is Laura who is the mom of Daisy (Lia Barnett) and has a very hectic work schedule. Laura doesn’t get the quality time with her daughter that she should and that bothers both of them. Laura also has some personal problems of her own which develop as the plot progresses. For one, Daisy’s dad (Dale McKeel) is definitely not the best man in the world for Laura.

Our two other young female protagonists are Lola (Sanai Victoria) and Dina (Madalen Mills). They have distinct personalities which the director lays out to the audience in scenes that are enjoyable yet occasionally feel a bit flat in terms of possessing actual substance.

There are scenes in the picture which feel scripted a lot more than they feel genuine. One comes when a girl states that she wants a cool alternate name that is much better than Taylor Swift or Beyonce. Scenes like this make one feel that the movie is simply trying to throw pop culture references into the picture and are easy to spot as “movie moments” rather than moments that would occur in real life. Eventually our girls find a dead body who may have committed suicide and this makes the plot become more complex because they are forced to begin to keep secrets from their elders regarding their unusual discovery.

Ashley Madekwe and Sarah Cooper as Joy and Karna are two of the most enjoyable performers to watch in this movie as the mothers of Dina and Lola. Alongside Mullally and Bell, the mother characters are uniformly well played in this movie. Mullally’s dialogue is smart but also feels like the work of screenwriters rather than coming off as 100% genuine. These problems aside, the moms are probably the best part of the movie.

The younger actresses fare well but fall victim to dialogue that occasionally rings hollow. The character of Lola also has an older sister and is trying to find her way in the world so the discovery of the dead body throws her world for an unexpected twist that was definitely unexpected. When the four young girls try to contact the spirit of the dead man and get important questions answered regarding the meaning of life, there are some interesting philosophical questions the movie raises but the film is ultimately too slight to do anything other than offer a broad overview of the themes it presents.

Still, Summering could pique the curiosity of viewers looking for one last hurrah this summer before we get into the fall months. This picture certainly captures the essence of the season. This film also definitely conveys meaningful themes such as the importance of cherishing the memories we make when we are young. However, the movie is ultimately only adequate which is unusual for the usually formidable filmmaker Ponsoldt.

Rating: 6/10

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