Summer Eleven (2010) User Reviews

Fun, lighthearted movie for families and friends

[savingregina · 7/10 · 16 January 2014]

It's the summer before middle school for Vanessa, Lizzie, Jess, and Peri-- four school friends--but that's not all they have to think about. Each girl faces her own challenge to tackle, challenges relatable to the audience, perhaps. All while staying together and soaking up the summer sun.

While the protagonists are 4 ten and eleven-year old girls, some of the issues that they face could be a little suggestive for younger children. Nevertheless, adults and older children will reminisce about their vacation days, and may find some traits in the girls to compare themselves to.

A low-budget film, but a fine one, in my opinion.

GREAT movie but for adults and preteens

[moviesfor3 · 5/10 · 17 June 2011]

I just tried to watch this with my six year old...NO WAY. The content is way to mature and heavy for a child. I enjoyed it alone as a forty year old but no way will I let my child watch this movie at her age. Life should be fun and happy and carefree...the do not need to even worry about these adult situations so young.....what happened to letting our kids be kids...they grow up fast enough.

Again....GREAT movie if you are an adult...but not at all for children to have to even think about. Loved the story line and the characters are great...but not for anybody under the age of 16...way too heavy for anybody under that age to comprehend or even understand.

A wonderful movie showing the beauty of friendship and compassion amidst difficult situations in four girls' lives.

[terrasoixante-sept · 10/10 · 3 June 2011]

Well, first off, my IMDb account was created tonight just so I could vote for Summer Eleven.

Yesterday, my daughters saw this movie listed at Redbox and asked to see it; the review mentioned the movie was about four 11-year-olds the summer before entering middle school. I was a little hesitant since my girls are 8 and 6. We watched it together and were moved by the depth of the characters and the richness of their stories. When the movie was over, my 8-year-old and I kept saying, "That was Such a Good Movie!" As soon as my husband got home from work, the three of us couldn't wait to tell him we found a Great movie and to ask if he'd want to watch it the next night. We did. And we loved it even more.

This is a poignant film. I do feel that my girls got a wonderful glimpse into how rich friendship can be, and how compassion can make a difference.

When returning the movie, I wanted to keep it. But then thought, if I did, this wonderful gem wouldn't be available to the next patron. My family one day will have this in our movie library.

Eleven is the age of the four girls in Summer Eleven, however, one need not only be young in years to enjoy it.

Awful

[Barbnoteboom · 1/10 · 9 August 2013]

I had the misfortune of being subjected to this ...'film' at a house today, while I was working. I love Tim Daly and Valerie Mahaffey, but...this was just plain awful. Acting was terrible, directing, characters...there was nothing good about this movie...Thankfully I left after an hour of working in the house, so don't know what happened with the big audition, or other completely contrived situations or characters...I was horrified that preteens and teens were watching this and thought it was good! My daughter would have turned it off in about 4 seconds or watched it only to make fun of it...awful!! Okay, you need ten lines of text...how many more times can I write awful??

The way it was... or at least, the way we wish it was

[IzzyTree · 9/10 · 15 June 2011]

This movie is a throwback to classic movies like Stand by Me: a tender, involving character-based coming of age story of four young girls. It is serious, yet with touches of humor here and there.

The story line involves four girlfriends in their 11th summer, right before they enter middle school. The four girls include Vanessa (Alice Ziolkoski), an up-and-coming young actress who is amazingly unspoiled (probably because her mother, played very well by Valerie Mahaffey, keeps her feet firmly planted on the ground). Jess (Sarah Butterworth) is a young tomboy whose main concerns in life are her absent father and her mother's annoying live-in boyfriend. Lizzie (Meaghan Hughes) is the nerd of the group, a reader in glasses who is small for her age; but she must deal with some of the biggest issues there are when her older brother comes home wounded from Iraq. And Peri (Sydney Fox), brought into the group by Vanessa, is dealing with her own difficult issues: an unemployed mother who lives with her and her brother out of her car.

Yes, that's a lot of "issues." However, a film that might have become like four Movies of the Week rolled into one, somehow finds cohesion because of some delicate writing, as well as some very good, naturalistic acting by the four young actresses. Not to denigrate the adult actors; they are good, too (including Adam Arkin in a charming cameo); but the movie hangs on the able performances of the four young actresses.

As examples of the good writing: When Vanessa's mom invites Peri's mom to stay in her guest house, it's done gently, with humor and sensitivity. When Lizzie's older brother finally comes out of his shell, once again, the light, deft touch of a master writer and good acting saved it from being a schmaltz-fest. Certain other hackneyed story lines were thankfully avoided (having the other girls compete with Vanessa for acting gigs, for example).

Sometimes, the "issues" did seem to drag the viewer down into the "issue-mill," and things threatened to get a little depressing. However, scenes like that were always followed by light, delicate scenes between the four girls that seemed so REAL. One scene where the girls are swinging on a tree rope reminded me very much of my childhood summers where we did similar things. Another scene between the four girls and two of their boy "friends" gave me the chills, it seemed so real.

If I were going to be picky, I could have done without the final scene of the movie, where one of the girls' concerns is wrapped up a little too neatly. However, over all, this was an extremely well-written and acted ensemble piece. There are very few PG-rated family movies of this quality these days. This is one I would highly recommend, especially for mothers and daughters to watch together. 9/10

Most depressing movie ever!

[mattyandalex · 1/10 · 14 May 2016]

I rented this movie to watch with my 11 year old as we were going away for the weekend and thought it would be a perfect movie night movie to watch together. It looked heartwarming, entertaining, enjoyable and easy to relate to for my Miss 11. It was the MOST depressing, worst movie we had both seen. My 11 year old who is very easy to please extremely disliked it and at the end of it she even said, "I think that was the worst movie I've ever seen, Mum!" The acting was terrible, the story-line was depressing. Its basically a movie about four 11 year olds and all their problems in their lives. It doesn't even have any life lessons. Pity I hadn't taken another DVD on holiday with me as a back-up!

A beautiful, beautiful film

[alanbernhoft · 9/10 · 30 August 2011]

Joseph Kell is a writer-director to be reckoned with. His vision and talent were already apparent in his wonderful short, "Cassie Hill" and his talents as a first rate storyteller come to full fruition in "Summer Eleven". A deceptively simple screenplay with first rate performances, mostly by children, this film hits on so many real subjects that most of us try to avoid, as seen through the eyes (and lives) of innocents kids. And yet, there is an overall sweetness and tenderness in the midst of pain, heartache and anguish that is all too real. One of the most human movies I've seen in a long time, with traces of Rob Reiner's "Stand By Me" This film is a complicated puzzle put together so masterfully, it hits you like a light poem that washes over you, yet changes you in some profound way. Who says film can't be art? SPOILER: Northern Exposure fans will relish the on screen reunion of genius actors Adam Arkin and Valerie Mahaffey. I did.

Terrible

[rhamalily · 1/10 · 24 March 2016]

When first viewing the cover of the movie on Netflix, I thought this movie would be about camping on a summer trip, the description also implies that. Very first glance at the movie, the casting was off with age and acting experience. This movie seems like it would be fun and family friendly but, it is NOT. SPOILER: There is one girl in the movie who's mother is dating an abusive guy that is very depressing. There is also another girl who's parents were going through a divorce and she was very depressed about it. Then, there was another girl who's brother just got back from war, and he was horribly disabled(missing a leg) and was an alcoholic which is a very negative influence of anyone. Also, the parents were also yelling at the brother and telling him that he needs to get his life together which can upset people who didn't go to college and parents nagged on them. Another little girl in the movie, was forced to do acting when she didn't want to. Also, the girls in the movie who were supposedly "best friends" rarely hung out together. END SPOILER: This movie also had no major events that made a plot. It was just a big group of little boring events. We would not recommend this movie to anyone unless you like making fun of awful and ridiculous movies.

Charming

[Cedric_Catsuits · 10/10 · 8 July 2013]

For what it is, it's perfect. It's not pretentious or sentimental or trying to be something it isn't. It makes no claim to be a film for kids as far as I can see, it's just a film about kids, facing real life situations, and managing them well. The adult players are integral to the story and there's a nice balance between the kids playing with other kids, and interacting with their far from perfect parents.

It scores high because it deals with happiness, sadness, success and grief in a realistic way, not getting bogged down with sentimentality or ramming 'important lessons' down our throats. I don't see why kids around the same age as the stars couldn't watch this, but as I said it certainly doesn't set out to be a film for kids. It's by no means hard-hitting, more quaint than edgy.

These four girls are all little stars and I'm surprised to see none of them have appeared in another movie. What their character show is is although we don't live in a perfect world, we can make our world perfect. Well done all of you :)

Excellent story - So true to life

[neuroepidr-53336 · 10/10 · 29 June 2022]

This is a great movie, especially for parents with elementary to middle school-aged children. As a cognitive neuroscientist and one who develops educational programs for parents, this move shows how adult behaviors and life experience affect children. And the real-life experiences among school-aged children. Overall, I loved it and recommend it.

Loved it as a child, love it still, and will never stop loving it

[emmacochran · 10/10 · 2 June 2020]

This movie is a cinematic masterpiece. the weird cuts of absolutely nothing, the wonderful storyline where everyone hates themselves, the dad randomly coming back at the end, a whole family being homeless, ADAM ARKIN, lol loved him in The Act, never have a cried more in a film. I loved the weird romantic tension between Jess (age 11) and Gary (age 20 something). also kind of weird how Dave kicked his girlfriends kids out of their room. and then Dave got kicked out of the house. stupid dave. also no child gets that excited about armpit hair. also the relationship between Ron and vanessa was a bit weird. he was her agent right?? well he acted like her creepy uncle. also the girl is 11, why does she need an elephant constantly. even tho i kinda want it not gonna lie. this movie is still a cinematic masterpiece though and will forever hold dear to my heart. ily adam arkin, my life will never be the same after this movie and i encourage every man woman or child out there to watch this and have your heart filled with the most wonderful and indescribable feeling you will ever experience

A cute and enjoyable film

[Stevemovieguy · 8/10 · 1 June 2020]

I just finished watching Summer Eleven (2010). It is a family comedy/drama about four 11 year old girls who are best friends and their last summer before middle school. Even though I am not in the target demographic, I really enjoyed it. The girls are adorable and I was invested in their characters and their friendship. I think young girls would especially enjoy the film. My rating is an 8/10.

Loved it!

[cassyunknown · 9/10 · 4 September 2014]

I actually loved this movie. I was just browsing through netflix when I came across this. I thought that it would be an easy going pre-teen based movie, where the girls get up to girly things. I thought it would be similar to 'An American Girl' movies, which I like to watch. However it was completely different. The movie didn't require a high budget or A-list actors to tell a good story about little girls experiencing big world problems. I really enjoyed the movie and thought that it was really gripping. All the girls were very nice to each other which also inspired me. They dealt with their problems in a very appropriate way which I admired.

A coming-of-age movie with the compelling messages.

[Reno-Rangan · 8/10 · 12 June 2014]

Well, this is not the movie everyone desire to watch by themselves unless someone suggest or forced to. I always take chances in under-rated, under-appreciated and b grade movies. So that is how my road led here to review what I found with my latest watch. First of all, this movie was made under a tight budget and each scene was carefully carved. So the production quality won't stand up to your expectations, but very much acceptable.

A beautiful drama with the series of most compelling messages. Of course, the reality is there though it lacked in good performances throughout. All the actors were fresh, (I am not sure that, but I did not find any familiar faces and with their performances I thought so) but the crew extracted the best possibly could get from them. Especially all the four girls were awesome. Each one of them was so peculiar from others. It is the story of them and the summer.

The four girls in their eleven on the summer holiday hangouts to have fun and prepare to face the middle school challenges. The narration splits and briefs each girl's family story with all the good and bad that occur. Between that, these girls never stop to group and enjoy the summer. Along making others look better who are in their sorrow and learns to encounter difficulties in life by themselves. A coming-of-age story.

It is a feel good movie. Families and women would like it more than young boys and men. Most of the people does not aware of this movie's existence, but now you do after reading this. So if you are qualified to see this like I mention in the above line then go for it without a next thought. Because you might know me in my many reviews with similar taste, if not just ignore. I wish I could recommend it for everyone, but you know movies are barred with genres and categories that splits the audience. To me it was a nice movie to watch once.

Excellent

[tkorica · 10/10 · 7 December 2014]

I just gave it a straight ten, this film totally surprised and charmed me. It completely avoids any cliché that seems to perpetuate in so many girls films. In this film girls are so refreshingly _not_ the little self - centered gigglers whose main and only subject are boys, and main plot is _not_ around petty fight that two of them had.

There are some deep and challenging events for kids at that age in the plot, and yet the movie is never a *drama*. It is represented the way kids handle it - just like you rarely see a kid just blocked - they accept and move on. It may appear light hearted, an it is in a way, but that is because it remains true to that particular perspective - kids cope with certain events, ups or downs, better than the adults do (obviously, not talking about extremes now).

Another point that I loved about the movie is that I have miserably failed whenever I thought that I had a particular character all figured out. I didn't. I loved the Valerie Mahaffey performance - brilliant. Girls as well.