A Plumm Summer (2008)

A Plumm Summer is a sweet little indie film pulled off perfectly. There are some big names in the supporting cast who are all note-perfect, most notably Peter Scolari and Henry Winkler. Billy Baldwin also puts in a very good turn for the first time in quite a while. Newcomers Chris Massoglia and Owen Pearce couldn't be any cuter and more adorable as the brothers/stars of the film. Massoglia (credited as "Chris J. Kelly") is particularly outstanding considering it's his first jump from TV to film - you really like him and feel for his character. To me, A Plumm Summer hearkens back to 6:00 on Sunday when the family would gather around the TV with dinners in hand to watch the Wonderful World of Disney's weekly fare. This is like that... but better quality than most of what Walt served up. There's some real heart to this effort thanks to genuine drama that hits a message without becoming overwrought with itself. The mystery element to the story is none too deep or complex, but it doesn't need to be; it's just the vehicle that introduces some very likable characters and lets us get to know them. There's a laugh or two along the way and everything is generally light-hearted and fun. It's a good family film that entertains as well as confronts a serious note or two along the way. It won't change the landscape of movie-making, but it's awfully nice to see that somebody will still make a sweet, innocent film like this. Kudos to the folks responsible for doing that. A very endearing, charming, family film worth anyone's time.

We were very glad to have dvr'ed this movie and watched it with the kids! It was fun to look up more details about the real story and investigate where in Montana it was filmed! The videography was gorgeous, showing some of the very best of Montana and very much why we live here! I hope someone picks this up in the future and produces the planned sequels (keeping them set and produced in Montana where the story belongs!).I've ordered a copy for our local library circulation, just because it's a clean family movie with a Montana theme and location. I'll be glad to recommend it to people looking for a good family night movie.

I just watched this on DVD, and here's my question: why can't there be more movies like this? I take my kids to Blockbuster every weekend to find something to watch. First off, there isn't really anything in the 'kids' section. It's either pre-school or teen. Hardly any in the middle. Why is that? My boys are 7 and 9. Where are the movies for those kids? There are some, yes, and we've watched them all. Many times. But it's such a small selection. So i was happy to see something new on the shelf. My son Tommy said, "Look dad, there's one we haven't seen!" like he'd just seen a flying saucer. So we took it home and watched two times over the weekend. My wife and I ended up watching it with them and loved it. Great, fun, life lessons, adventurous. It had everything. It inspired the boys the way the Hardy Boys inspired me as a kid. So I'm taking the time out of my day to make this comment. I think it's worth it to get the word out, because I know there are a lot more parents like us. And kudos to Henry Winkler and William Baldwin for raising the bar.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival had a first today. The Applebox section, consisting of family-oriented fare, had never before featured a film which was so popular that people had to be turned away at the door. It happened this morning with "A Plumm Summer." First-time director and screenwriter Caroline Zelder's gem of a film recounts a true incident in 1968 when Froggy Doo, a popular children's character on local Montana television, went missing. The show's host, Happy Herb (Happy Days' Henry Winkler), fears that his beloved puppet has been kidnapped. Amateur detectives Eliott Plumm (14-year-old Chris Kelly, scene-stealer #1) and his little brother Rocky (Owen Pearce, scene-stealer #2) are determined to find Froggy Doo before the F.B.I. bungles the case (watch for Peter Scolari as a hapless agent). William Baldwin is frighteningly real as the down-on-his-luck father, and Jeff Daniels' voice-over as the present-day Elliott was a treat. Brenda Strong and Lisa Guerrero are other actors of note who jumped at the chance to participate in this little indie after reading Zelder's sweet script. Much of the cast and crew were present for a Q&A, which was as fun and delightful as the film itself. Far too few films like this are being made, and "A Plumm Summer" is a reminder of just how good they can be.