This movie brought back memories of another movie I watched many moons ago. That movie was called "Lifeguard" and starred a young Sam Elliott. This movie was as enjoyable and as picturesque as that movie and gave me a nice feeling, reminiscing how I once as a teen found my way to fit in. Hard to find the words to describe that feeling we all felt as we were coming of age and turning that corner in life. This movie delivers the goods, great job pulling it off by actor Percy Hynes White!
12 Reviews
Not a very good movie.
tegglest13 February 2019
Surf, sand, sun, and shallowness
denny32117 April 2019
Judging by the high ratings (Two 10's? Really?) it looks like the filmmakers have been busy casting their votes here on IMDb. The cinematography is indeed quite good but everything else is fair at best, and quite often grossly deficient.
Starting with the tired old plotline of a kid from the Upper Midwest who's suddenly plopped into the So Cal cool zone (Side Out, Beverly Hills 90210, Tribes of Palos Verdes, et cetera, et cetera...), it begins by rehashing familiar stereotypes and then essentially goes nowhere. The paper-thinness of the characters is perfectly exemplified by the male lead, who nicknames himself "Minnesota" apparently to underscore his newbie-ness to one and all (we never do learn his real name). From there, we're treated to endlessly cringeworthy moments as our hapless, prepubescent-looking and implausibly naive hero tries desperately to be accepted by the "cool kids" while mooning over his unattainable heartthrob Brooke, who is not only "out of his league" as he puts it, but clearly out of his maturity level and seemingly out of his entire species.
The film is set in 1986, for no apparent reason - there isn't much to establish a mid-80s atmosphere, and there are a number of obvious, careless anachronisms (board shorts were not yet in vogue back then, tatted up guys were confined to trailer parks, and nobody had ever heard of a "fist bump"). All in all this has the feel of a vanity project by a writer/director who was most likely a hapless, androgynous Minnesota tweener among surf gods in 1986 Hermosa Beach himself.
But the real victim of this waste of good scenery - aside from the audience - is the LA County Junior Lifeguards, a truly worthwhile summer program that has taught vital beach and ocean skills to generations of kids. Here, it's depicted as a cliquish and exclusory group run by an abusive bully. If this movie were all I had to go on, I wouldn't let my kids anywhere near it.
Starting with the tired old plotline of a kid from the Upper Midwest who's suddenly plopped into the So Cal cool zone (Side Out, Beverly Hills 90210, Tribes of Palos Verdes, et cetera, et cetera...), it begins by rehashing familiar stereotypes and then essentially goes nowhere. The paper-thinness of the characters is perfectly exemplified by the male lead, who nicknames himself "Minnesota" apparently to underscore his newbie-ness to one and all (we never do learn his real name). From there, we're treated to endlessly cringeworthy moments as our hapless, prepubescent-looking and implausibly naive hero tries desperately to be accepted by the "cool kids" while mooning over his unattainable heartthrob Brooke, who is not only "out of his league" as he puts it, but clearly out of his maturity level and seemingly out of his entire species.
The film is set in 1986, for no apparent reason - there isn't much to establish a mid-80s atmosphere, and there are a number of obvious, careless anachronisms (board shorts were not yet in vogue back then, tatted up guys were confined to trailer parks, and nobody had ever heard of a "fist bump"). All in all this has the feel of a vanity project by a writer/director who was most likely a hapless, androgynous Minnesota tweener among surf gods in 1986 Hermosa Beach himself.
But the real victim of this waste of good scenery - aside from the audience - is the LA County Junior Lifeguards, a truly worthwhile summer program that has taught vital beach and ocean skills to generations of kids. Here, it's depicted as a cliquish and exclusory group run by an abusive bully. If this movie were all I had to go on, I wouldn't let my kids anywhere near it.
California beach coming of age movie
wrxsti5411 December 2020
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.
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.
Nothing special, a vanity project
amrahs_tima23 June 2019
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.
Hope, then despair.
lostritto25 April 2020
I usually like these coming of age summer films, but this was a strange one. The official movie description keeps saying 1986, yet 1983 is written on the chalk board and the newspaper headline in the movie. Who makes this mistake?? Characters are shallow. Are they bulliies? are they friends? Did he cruelly abandon his nerdy friend and why? Shooting the Hawaiian guys and the Rock God, omg!! My family couldn't watch it so I had to finish it alone.
Who Cast this Film?
chas43727 June 2019
There must have been favors owed or nepotism in the casting. The kid who played the lead looked like a holocaust survivor. He was hard to look at, people cast in films are generally good looking, that's how you attract people to the theater. The rest of the cast isn't much better.
I grew up in California in the mid-80s. It was absolutely nothing like its portrayed in this movie. People were mean and aggressive, especially the beach/surfer culture. Drugs were everywhere. This kid would have been chewed up. The way the kids act in this film, you can tell they are Millennials with sensitivity training.
This is the sort of movie that plays in the middle of the night on Cinemax, that's the legacy.
I grew up in California in the mid-80s. It was absolutely nothing like its portrayed in this movie. People were mean and aggressive, especially the beach/surfer culture. Drugs were everywhere. This kid would have been chewed up. The way the kids act in this film, you can tell they are Millennials with sensitivity training.
This is the sort of movie that plays in the middle of the night on Cinemax, that's the legacy.
Nostalgic, funny and beautiful
michaelbugdanowitz15 September 2018
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.
A perfect summer movie
IAGOfficial30 September 2018
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.
Age of Summer: a good movie.
niutta-enrico24 June 2019
This is Bill Kiely's and David Harris' first feature film and I have been very well impressed by them. Because writing something fresh and entertaining over such an exploited material (first Summer, first Kiss, coming of Age...) requests talent.
The movie is perfectly shot and very pleasant to watch. Characters are catching and the story unfolds nicely: I'm going to save it in my Film's Vault under the 'Comedy' and 'Romance' tags but with a purple dot, which is reserved to movies that I could possibly re-watch.
A great honour... enjoy.
The movie is perfectly shot and very pleasant to watch. Characters are catching and the story unfolds nicely: I'm going to save it in my Film's Vault under the 'Comedy' and 'Romance' tags but with a purple dot, which is reserved to movies that I could possibly re-watch.
A great honour... enjoy.
A nice little movie
jimok-6624224 February 2019
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."
Beautiful
twelve-house-books12 August 2021
Looks like lots of people are too pretentious these days to admit that this is a beautiful coming-of-age film which deserves high ratings. I only caught one word that was not used in 1986--when one of the lifeguards gets excited about a beer score and squeals "Sick!" Keep your pretentions to yourself and your silly social media and when you review a film, be honest.
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