Indian Summer (1993)

This 1993 comedy-drama tells about a group of friends that return to a summer camp after 20 years for a reunion and learn that it's going to close down. In the process, they reminisce and learn new things about one another. Alan Arkin, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Pollak, Sam Raimi and the late, Bill Paxton are featured. This is a pretty good flick with wacky and dramatic moments featuring a decent cast and beautiful scenery. Give this a view, especially if you think about your childhood.

This ensemble piece about adults who return to the formulative Summer camp of their youth was a very quiet entrant and exiter to the cinemas in the Autumn of 1993. I'd say that was a shame,but then again,some of the better movies ARE quiet releases that don't get much hype or praise.Diane LAne,Kevin Pollack,Elizabeth Perkins,Vincent Spano,Julie Warner,Bill Paxton,Kimberly Williams,Matt Craven and Alan Arkin(who is painfully good here) are the group of actors who flesh out these roles as people who have grown old with good,bad and funny memories of summers gone past. This film covers the gambit of emotions,mostly pleasant,and the film never hammers away at the viewer to feel what the characters are feeling,preferring to allow the viewer to enter into the memories on their own. Since I am a movie viewer who bristles at bluntly,brazen manipulation in films,this is something that I appreciate from writer/director Mike Binder.This film's a great cheap rent,a good main rent and even a pretty sit in a theater flick. You might run across this on TV,and I would definitely suggest a look-see.

Before Tuscan Sky, I saw Diane Lane's tender performance in this otherwise lark of a movie. Campers are invited to the camp of their youth and experience it as adults. Each of those that return seem to be looking for something they lost, which makes it so realistic. Maybe you had to be a camper to really get it, but in the words of one character noticing all her clothes were wet "this is so camp!" From the practical jokes and fighting over boyfriends, to the scary lunch lady and the early morning bell ... it's amp. Once exciting activities now seem mundane. A terrific ensemble cast makes the best of one-two dimensional roles and makes them believable. Bill Paxton, Diane, Elizabeth, Mrs. Brad Paisley (probably when he first fell for her!!) The beautiful scenery, bright colors, comical music (including variations of Hello Muddah)and a comic acting turn by noted director Sam Raimi makes this a movie you can pull out again and again like looking up an old friend.

This plot for this movie is very similar to "The Big Chill", but this film doesn't come close. The writing is very weak. The plot is very formulaic and thus the ending is very predictable. All of the characters are based on archetypes that aren't enhanced to being anything additional to their roles. These two elements, what I call "lazy writing", make for a very uninteresting movie.The acting is well done, but not outstanding. I am fond of Diane Lane and hers is probably the best acted. Her character has the most complex emotions to express and she does a good job.Direction is good, but nothing outstanding. The scenery is wonderful.Time is much better spent watching "The Big Chill" for the second, third or twentieth time rather than watching this one.