Something Like Summer (2017) User Reviews

Disappointing

[trflock · 5/10 · 17 September 2017]

I have read all of the books in Jay Bell's "Seasons" series. Because of this, I was really looking forward to this movie. In full disclosure, this is probably why I was so disappointed. A few things: First, Something Like Summer the book was absolutely amazing. However, the film left out so much and I can't help but think that, in part, this was because so much time was spent on the musical aspect of the film. The music was trite, boring, and awkward. It also seemed like it just showed up out of nowhere (e.g., "gee, I don't know how to end this scene, so let's throw in a poorly written and performed song about gay teenage angst).

Second, the characters, costumes and scenery all seemed fake. The whole ambiance of the film seemed like a white upper-middle-class version of gayness rooted in stereotypes.

Finally, I was not pleased with the character of Ben. You know how when you read a book you create an image of the character in your head? Well, whoever played Ben was not it. Of course, the fact that Ben kept breaking into song didn't help anything.

Though not pleased with Ben, the depiction of Tim was spot on :)

I will end with this: if you are a fan of the book, watch the film. However, be prepared for less emotional attachment, excitement, and satisfaction.

Something like "As The World Turns"

[Suradit · 5/10 · 3 December 2017]

An attractive, likable cast made it all bearable and, at times, enjoyable, but most of the twists and turns in the story were predictable, derivative and tedious.

There also seemed to be numerous, awkward moments when, out of nowhere, a musical number was inserted in a startling, cringe worthy way. Rather than enhancing the story line, most of them were intrusive, barely relevant and uncomfortable.

While the whole movie was creeping over the line into soap opera territory, the final twist & turn removed all doubt.

It is probably still worth watching, but by the end you may be asking yourself, "what the hell just happened."

Read the book.

[daveyc-54705 · 5/10 · 4 August 2021]

Loved the book series. The characters and story hold a very special place in my heart. That being said, I feel like this adaptation was botched. Mostly by the cringe-worth, heavy-handed acting. I would have loved to see this as a miniseries under better direction with some bigger names attached to star.

Rollercoaster ride but not in a good way

[jaredvent · 6/10 · 22 January 2018]

You know how most gay themed movies are depressing as hell because for some unknown reason production companies apparently insist on having antagonists in the story? Well this movie goes above and beyond to make those companies happy. It's like someone took two different movies with depressing endings and mashed them up together to make this emo monstrosity. The acting is good, the random bursts of songs in the movie are well sung but is a bit distracting and the story is far too rushed because they tried to fit too much in a 2 hr movie. I hope more movies follow the model set by recent movies like 'Call me by your name' and deliver some laid back LGBTQ+ movies with cheerful endings.

This movie tried to be a lot of things and failed at every single one of them

[AyanaH · 4/10 · 12 September 2017]

This movie gave me a lot of feelings and not one of them was positive. The two hours (six because I kept pausing to vent) I spent watching this were an exercise in frustration. This should not have been two hours long. It doesn't have enough substance to warrant that length.

Full disclosure: my main source of irritation with this film stems from the lead character, and I'll admit that it's in large part due to the actor. None of the acting in this film is stellar but his was the weakest for me(except for act II where Tim suddenly starts talking like Mr. Darcy in P&P). Needless to say that I didn't like Ben; found him completely un-rootable. We're meant to sympathize with him, admire his courage at being out in high school while living in a conservative town, but I couldn't muster even that. This is supposed to be a story about growth, which visits the main pair at 3 different points in their lives, but while Tim did change/grow, I felt like Ben stayed the same. As the "good" one of the two, I guess that we're supposed to look at it as Tim "growing" to get to Ben's level of self-acceptance, which he did, but Ben is a flawed, inherently selfish character who could've done with considerable growth himself and unfortunately we didn't get to see that.

It took me a while to put my finger on it but this felt like one of those films that's intended to be a vehicle to launch an actor's career, to show how special and talented he is. Or one of those self-indulgent ones where the director/writer also assigns himself a lead role regardless of his ability to act. Mulligans comes to mind, probably because I watched that recently. But even that guy, with his two facial expressions and monotone voice, didn't annoy me this much. I wasn't aware going in that this was also a musical so the first time Ben burst into song, I was taken aback. It was hard to take his performances seriously, however, since every time he did the scene "froze" yet you could see the other actors struggling not to move and blinking rapidly. It was very distracting. Also, while Ben/Grant can indeed sing, I wasn't fond of his voice and I don't think the songs accomplished what the director intended.

Long story short, I personally would not recommend this film. By halfway through, I didn't care whether the two ended up together or not. I actually felt like Tim could do better but then I decided maybe it was best that they be together to save anyone else the misery of having to date them. The fact that someone literally had to die for them to come together in the end just cemented my dislike of the film, especially since that person was perhaps the nicest and most likable character in the film.

Difficult choices

[Mort & Spunky the awesome cat · 7/10 · 3 July 2020]

I'd never want to have to bring a book to life, with all the limitations normally involved. I bought and read this series (those available at the time, then buying the rest as they became available) a few years ago, just after losing the last member of my family after taking care of her in my home for 3½ years. My emotional attachment to these books is strong because they helped me move forward, helped me adjust to a very new life. Today, when I saw the e-mail that we could buy or rent the film, I bought and watched immediately.

The music didn't help. I understand they needed to advance the story. If they'd done the book more literally, the film would've been four hours. So the filmmakers were left with difficult choices. For me, it would have been worth it to add ten minutes to more closely follow the death of (I won't tell who). Other than Harry Potter books/films, I've rarely both read and watched a story. I'd read this book three times before watching; a first. Trying to tell that much story in under 90 minutes, they were going to need to leave out significant moments, moments every reader, as much as, treasured.

Unfamiliar with any of them, I really liked the cast. I'd already decided I wouldn't (based on the trailer), but the three boys, the good friend, the parents and the sister - even the obnoxious twink bit part - were all really well done. I look forward to watching it again without taking 20-30 minutes to adjust to them not being exactly as I envisioned when reading. ( I pictured and mannered the two leads a lot like the two leads in 'Get Real', though American.) But at the end of the film, I had the same sense of the characters that I had with the books -- still liking Jace best.

The filmmakers gave a lot of effort with a lot of talent. There were a few especially well done moments of (I'll probably need to watch several times to adequately describe) unique editing/photography. I love the story. I just wish they could have found a way, other than musical numbers, to condense it. But I liked it better than I thought I would.

I want to give it a higher rating, maybe I will after another viewing or two. If you've found it to stream somewhere, and it still has a fairly low rating (currently 6.0), I'd encourage you to give it a try. There's a lot there. If you're debating whether or not to put money on it and you haven't read the book, follow your gut, and stick with it. I think you're likely to find it a rewarding, worthwhile watch in the end. If you liked/loved the book, just watch it.

Uninteresting gay romcom.

[johannes2000-1 · 4/10 · 26 January 2022]

I'm always in for a nice gay-themed movie. But this one is unfortunately of questionable quality. It's basically a romcom, but of the most sentimental kind, never exceeding the level of simple soap-opera. As a curious extra the cast, at several, mostly odd and awkward moments, out-of the blue starts singing, by way of some sort of musical comment on the goings-on. It simply doesn't fit the story, the music itself is hardly appealing and Grant Davis is rather unimpressive as a singer.

The story is the weakest link in this movie. Main character Ben goes over the years through a series of repeating romances with two lovers, every hick-up is blown into huge emotional proportions (with according epic background music) and when at last there is all of a sudden a really dramatic life-event, it's almost brushed aside within 5 minutes to give the movie it's apparently needed happy end, that by the way with me left a rather cynical impression.

I liked Davi Santos and Ben Baur, both acted fairly well, but I had some trouble with Grant Davis as main character Ben. It was a mystery to me how these two great guys - the one exotically handsome, the other sweet and loyal - apparently were fighting over this sulky and grumpy guy who slouched depressively through most of the movie and wasn't in any way attractive or even sympathetic.

All this, along with an overlong duration of almost 2 hours, made watching this movie a long and rather tedious experience.

A wonderful gay coming of age movie.

[sdca92108 · 9/10 · 25 September 2017]

It may be hard to believe but I was unaware of Jay Bell's Something Like series of books before I recently came upon this movie by accident. I immediately became enamored with the actors, their acting, the music and the ability of Director David Berry's ability to capture the gut wrenching emotions of a young, gay man growing up. Grant Davis did a wonderful performance playing the roller coaster life of Ben. I have to admit I was surprised when Ben started singing and the movie cut to a stage scene where Ben is singing to a living statue of his first real love, Tim. Davis' voice was perfect for emotionally telling details of Ben's feelings. The music added a unique touch to the movie. The expression on Ben's face in the scene where he had his first kiss is incredible. The chemistry between all the characters was significant. One of the ways I judge how well I like a movie is how many times I check how much time is left in the movie. Something Like Summer captured my attention, evoked emotions in me that I didn't know I had and without me ever stopping to see how much time was left in the movie. I'm sorry I missed the West Coast premiere of the movie here in San Diego. I'm almost ashamed to say I lost track of how many times I have watched the movie. I discover new things every time. It was that good.

Great Movie - Without the Musicals

[danyelopoindexter · 7/10 · 22 September 2017]

I gave it a 7/10 because Davi Santos who played Tim really brought this movie together for me. This is someone who has not read the book series and I plan on reading it later on. I only found out about it through this movie and a LOT of people say its great, but there are still mixed reviews on the book being over hyped. However, I won't judge a book I haven't read. So here's a point of view from someone who has never read the novels.

The movie had some great aspects and had some (better left out) parts. The better left out parts, I would have to utterly agree, was the musicals. I'm not a fan of musicals but I will watch them and delve into their authenticity. The problem with this one was some of the beats were off, they did some erratic, and there was a couple of time I saw the crewmen's shadows and personally that just bothered me. I think the movie would have gotten a solid 10 if the musicals were cut out.

I'm not sure how Ben comes off in the book, but I really do think that Ben and Tim in this movie (basically the actors) had great chemistry on set. I didn't see this with the third lead character aka Jace. He was a nice put it but I didn't see the same connection so his story was a little dry even though the actor did a great job.

The best parts about this movie was the color progression throughout the years and how it changed according to their age. I also think Davi Santos, like I mentioned before, brought the substance of this movie together, specifically with his eye movements. He knows how to bring in emotions with his eyes and follow the camera spot on. He gave me a better connection to the character than anyone else did. On top of that, I have to say that I loved the instrumental pieces in this movies. They were cued at the right time, and really went hand in hand with the substance of the movie.

But yes, unfortunately, I really didn't care for the musicals. They could have strayed their attention away from that area. It was just too erratic and too dry for me. I was about at a 5/5 when I first saw this movie because I'm not sure if the Ben character is like this in the book, but he really didn't seem to get the point of view of Tim who didn't get that same support in any way from his parents. And it bothers me that this was never really mentioned except for one measly scene that was gone in a second. And the movie ended without that ever being brought up. I mean, Ben called him a coward, but he was shaped that way because of his parents upbringing and it takes a while for a person to free themselves from that way of thinking. If the movie delved into that aspect a little more, I could ignore the musicals and give it a solid 10/10. The second time I watched it, I ignored the musicals (lol) and studied the actors and the focus on their role. That's when I had to bring this up to a 7/10. It has a really good storyline with some choppy build up during middle scenes, but the best part is the beginning and then end for me. The end really tied together a nice scene that wasn't too pushy to the audience.

It took me awhile to realize it wasn't supposed to be a comedy

[adamsdjr-78413 · 2/10 · 29 December 2017]

Only once in a great while does a movie come along that makes you physically throw your hands up due to its complete absurdity. I was laughing through the entire thing. From the characters, to the dialogue, the entire thing is completely disjointed and only made worse by the singing. The characters are flat and heartless. The story lacks any layering or insight. The entire thing felt sort of tripe.

Overall,,,, It's really good, it gives you all the right feels and vibes!

[joeylugo · 10/10 · 18 May 2020]

I haven't read the book, that's probably why I actually liked the film. Usually if you read the book first you almost never like the film lol. It escalates very fast the first 30 minutes and, yes does have it's fair amount of musicals during those 30 min, but after watching the whole film, I really enjoyed it! One of the few movies that actually made me TEAR UP a bit and I can be picky and 'cold-hearted' with movies sometimes. Just watch it, by far one of my FAVORITE gay movies out there its a really nice movie!! **Customer note** Don't pay more than like $7-ish to rent, I watched it for free..**

Not as good as hoped after reading the book(s)

[David-CB · 7/10 · 30 April 2021]

I have read Jay Bell's Seasons series of books and really got into them; the film as you might expect missing much of the depth of these and missed out many aspects, I also didn't like some aspects which were changed from the book which in my view changed the dynamics and motivation(s) of the characters.

I am sorry to say i didn't enjoy the singing / musical sections - this just didn't work for me or link to the books well in my own opinion, the songs just didn't work, it was put in at odd places (and they could have had this type of thing in a relevant place such as the talent show thats in the book - but not the film).

Sadly many of the secondary characters lacked the depth that are in the books - if you read the books the acting didn't always match what was on screen.

I enjoyed watching this but sadly it feel short of what could have been amazing.

Not good

[witali-lorenz · 3/10 · 21 November 2021]

Unfortunately, I am very disappointed with the film. Very unemotional with bad transitions and a quick narrative style. The story had a lot of potential for a good movie, but unfortunately it didn't happen here.

Grant Davis and Davi Santos are what makes this worth watching..

[bgoo-19890 · 7/10 · 3 December 2021]

I am a gay man with no talent. Just opinions.

In my opinion Grant Davis and Davi Santos worked hard with what they had to work with. Supported by Ben Baur and Ajiona Alexis gave a valiant effort . This movie struggled under bad direction,major technical fails and writing that even good acting couldn't rise above. I watched this movie 3 times. After the first watch I read the other reviews. I hate to agree with other writers. In this case they had a point.

The Staging of the movie. First using live action and cutting to a sound stage for music inserts could have set a tone if it was consistent. The problem here too was technical the sound and lighting were so inconsistent. I think Grant Davis has a good voice. Was it held back by technical reasons? I just had a feeling there was more power there. We saw a glimpse with the duet by Grant and Ajiona Alexis on the plane.

There was a nice story here I think. One of hope. The thing I believe in that Love will find a way. It made me wish I came out in the 2000's instead of the 80's. I think the writer of the book the movie was taken from should have used the control built into these deals and put his foot down.

Personal message to Grant Davis and Davie Santos. I will search for things you are in!

David Berry..well there is always commercials!

Loved Jay Bell's book series...the movie was merely alright.

[dannyboi1975 · 4/10 · 14 June 2018]

WhenI first read Jay Bell's "SOMETHING LIKE SUMMER", I fell in love. I fell in love with the story, the characters and most importantly how he set everything up. I was moved in a way that most literature I had read failed to do. So when I found out that a movie was being made based on the book, I was over the moon. Then when I saw the movie I was left wondering what happened to Jay Bell's masterpiece? I felt like I was getting a Cliff Notes version of "Brokeback Mountain" paired with "Mamma Mia" . This is NOT what Jay Bell created. I'm not a pureist who insists the movie must be exactly like the book, however it should at least closely resemble it. This movie thusly does not. So many things were left unexplained or simply rushed through. The movie never explained the significance of Ben and the music or Tim and his art. So many key plot points were just touched upon or completely ignored. It was as though Jay Bell wasn't even involved in the production. Some of the casting descisions were spot on and others left something to be desired. I really didn't conect with the actor who portrayed Ben. I really think he was sorely miscast. The actors cast as Tim and Alison were however perfect. Even if I gad not read the book first I would have been left feeling confused by this movie. It is Not a good adaptaion of the book

I really want to like this movie

[nemesdoki · 7/10 · 1 November 2021]

I really want to like this movie, because I really like the books. But I can't. I'm sorry, but it's not a good movie. It's like an amateur film you can find on YouTube countlessly. It tries to follow the book as much as possible, and that's good. But the scenes, the acting, the sets, all very cheap and poor quality. The most touching thing is the names and photos of the lot of people who funded the production. It's clear it was a love project of the creators, and I admire the effort, that's the reason of the 7 stars. I'm sorry.

Train Wreck

[RES55 · 1/10 · 29 March 2020]

The twelve "Something Like..." young adult gay romance novels by the talented Jay Bell are sweet, sentimental, and well-written. "Something Like Summer" is the first. One would think that a transfer to the screen would have been uncomplicated and straightforward. Such is not the case. The script is a cringeworthy embarrassment of nonsense with only a passing relationship to the novel delivered in equally embarrassing fashion by most of the actors. Then came a succession of dire production problems. The original director suffered severe health issues and pulled out (though we see him as a walk-on at one point). He was not replaced. Instead, the Director of Photography also directed, with evidently little clue about how to proceed. There is scant evidence of any thought in the chaotic editing, though admittedly, there wasn't really anything to work with.

Then, the original well-chosen principal actor Austin McKenzie (Cleve Jones in the 2017 mini-series "When We Rise") pulled out (though he is seen in PR materials) and was replaced by Grant Davis; he may or may not be okay in other things, but his miscasting here is preposterous, neither looking nor behaving remotely like the novel's 'Ben,' with apparently no directorial guidance. The excellent actor Ben Baur was miscast as 'Jace'; again, while quite fine in other projects, he bears no resemblance in any respect to his counterpart in the novel, and his performance is simply irritating. The only reasonable casting choice was Davi Santos as 'Tim,' who merely highlights how appalling the other choices were. In two hours, the film can't cover at least 35% of the narrative; it is jerky and unintelligible much of the time. I would attribute that partly to the absurd presence of hideous unnecessary musical numbers that occupy much of the running time. The film had a dark cloud over it from the outset and should have been abandoned; but I suspect it would have been difficult to refund Kickstarter contributors' donations. Initially intended for a 2014 release, it was delayed three years, and then had huge difficulties in finding a distributor.

Author Jay Bell, although privately frustrated with the terrible distortion of his work, now mentions the film on social media in an effort to guide people to the novels; at least the film serves some function. I generally liked the work of Blue Seraph filmmakers (e.g., "Judas Kiss," "The Dark Place") but "Something Like Summer," their last production, is a train wreck. The film was somewhat easier to forgive at first, but repeated viewings are hard to get through at all, a collation of maddening and easily remedied idiotic decisions about everything. Avoid the film; read the novels.

Good story but ran too much like daytime soap with unnecessary musical numbers.

[Remy_Azhary · 8/10 · 13 November 2017]

I almost bought the book on Amazon. But the fool in me gave it a pass. Now that I'd seen the movie I have a rather mixed feelings about it. I mean the story is fine; beautiful, in fact.

But it ran so much like a daytime soap that it felt too sappy at times. And what's worse it tried to be a musical which was totally off. So much so that it even felt like "Glee".

In any event, putting the cheesiness of daytime soap and musicals aside, what's important was the story itself. In all honesty, it's a beautiful story that spans several decades and with the movie's run time being slightly under 2 hours I'd say the story line was pretty solid. But it all had to be credited to the author of original novel itself, Jay Bell. Production-wise was "meh".

However, it doesn't hurt that the two main leads happened to be cute.

Don't waste your time.

[maxmazur · 1/10 · 29 October 2020]

This is one of those movies where everything feels cheap...some of the actors are okay...but its nothing like the book..character descriptions and wtf..unescessary musicals...can we please get a M/M romance movie without unnecessary camp and musicals...I love camp and musicals but this wasn't a story for that in my opinion. Its a train wreck and disappointment

Weak introduction but strong ending. A lot of character development

[tyronelikesturtles · 8/10 · 8 June 2018]

The introduction was awkward but as it progresses it becomes better. The plot was loose but the character development was strongest. Benjamin became this desperate person who ends up to not wanting anymore. Tim was a person who is still learning about his identity. Allison and Jace were static characters but their whole role was to support Benjamin. I didn't like the movie at first but when the characters matured it was easier to watch. Another comment is the music. The songs are good but transitioning into the songs is a bit messy and is not your average musical.

CRINGE!!!!!!

[y-38653 · 5/10 · 6 May 2022]

I used to only check reviews on each movie but never wrote one. This is my first comment because this movie has really struck me speechless.

It's actually an interesting story. I came across the novel by accident and fell in love with the something like ... gay universe. I recommended the series to my friend and he told me there was actually a movie adaptation. I was so excited at first but after the first 5 minutes, I realized I had seen it before and given it up because back then I thought it was disturbingly cringe. Ok I gave it another shot because I love this series so much and it's nothing but cringe.

From the adaptation perspective, it's a failure. The main reason is that the way Jay Bell wrote the series is plot-dense. The series is like a high-schooler diary (not in a bad way) so it is absolutely not possible to cram it into 2 hours. As a result, the movie left out a great deal of important details. For me, it is more of an illustration of the book than a movie. If I haven't read the series, I am sure I will never understand what's going on in each scene before it moves suddenly to some years later.

From the casting perspective, I disagree with some of the previous reviews. Allison is actually really great with sweat voice and satisfactory acting. Ben, Jace and Tim are total disaster. Especially for Tim, he is supposed to be the most handsome one given the fact that his beauty is constantly mentioned in the book. Their acting.... let's just not talk about it.

From the cringe perspective, the movie is soooo awkward. Everything seems cheap and fake. From their motives, dialogue, emotion to the setting and musical, it's just screaming we are underfunded! All these important scenes in the first book are either cut out or carried out in complete awkwardness. They made every line sound ridiculous and emotionless. So I didn't feel particularly touched but sorry for these actors and actresses because they must have felt embarrassed as well. As for the some years passed by part, they really should have done more.

Anyway, I really appreciate their efforts. The something like series is really good so if you have found the movie somewhat intriguing but haven't read the series yet, please read it. Then you will understand what I mean by this is illustration but not an adaptation.

A spot in my Top 100 worst movies ever.

[mohamedmassoud-71470 · 2/10 · 2 March 2018]

SOMETHING LIKE SUMMER- 23% The story is nice, however, everything else related to the movie is absurd. The sound engineering felt like something from a Disney movie. The structure jumped from 5 years to 5 years like it was nothing. the actors did have some potential which the director did not really know how to enlighten. The cinematography is annoying, with shaky cameras in stabilized shots, and camera crane shadows in some unnecessary scenes. The screenplay was rotten cheese. I repeat, the story itself is nice. The idea focuses on sensitive subjects related to love, acceptance, and fate. However, I don't think the director knows the meaning of these three words because he sure did not know how to show it. I did feel it sometimes with the actors which I think could have done so much more if directed correctly. Story wise and execution: 1.05/3.5 Acting: 0.5/2 Camera work: 0.4/2 Sound: 0.3/2 Overall Score: 1.13/5

it's a MUSICAL!!!

[tuckered-24959 · 3/10 · 30 January 2021]

I read the description on Prime Video and rented it. It said NOTHING about being a musical. If I wanted to watch GLEE, I would have rented GLEE. And if you have the nerve to use "Killing Me Softly", it should be the original by Roberta Flack!!! I hate feeling so deceived. All of the normal acting in the non-musical scenes seem choreographed. That's probably because the cinematographer is also the director. When there is a "fight" scene, I'm expecting them to break into West Side Story. I feel robbed and I want my money back!!

True Gay Relationships Can Be Complicated and Emotional But Must be Treasured

[robert23-1 · 9/10 · 8 April 2018]

Although I agree with the current overall rating, I highly disagree with most of the reviews. I wonder what movie they watched?? True gay relationships don't just happen overnight but take lots of hard work, understanding and patience and sometimes your first love, as in this movie, is the best. Although the supporting cast was acceptable and not the focus of the plot, I would be remiss if I did not congratulate the casting directors for their choices for the lead actors(Grant Davis as Ben and Davi Santos as Tim). Both performances, especially that of Davis, were outstanding given the limitations of the script. Davis has a beautiful voice and it was a joy to hear him sing as well as the actress playing Allison. Both the lead actors are gorgeous and the director deserves credit for the way the gay scenes were presented including ones with the main supporting actor Ben Baur(Jace), himself a 2017 Best Supporting Actor winner at FilmOut San Diego, and Davis. In the gay community, jealousy does exist such as was the case with Tristan Decker in the role of Bryce. His performance was integral to the final successful, though sad emotional conclusion bringing true lovers together in the end. Often our first loves are the ones that matter and are important.

Slightly disappointing

[hobojoint · 4/10 · 12 September 2017]

I have read all of the something like books and was naturally excited to see the movie was coming out and waited what seemed to be an eternity to see it. Sadly to say I shouldn't have waited. This movie failed to incorporate any kind of value from the book. I felt disconnected and had i not read the book, would have been totally lost as nothing is connected coherently. The movie reminds me of some kid show with a bunch of preppy guys out a catalog and no clear purpose. The movie also failed to display any kind of intimacy or emotionality expected in this work. And what is with all the singing?? I literally skipped through it as it was long drawn out and irrelevant. Overall I would have to rate this movie as a failure. Giving 4 for effort.

David Santos, call me.