Ping Pong Summer (2014)

Ping Pong Summer, at the time I'm writing this, has only a 5.3/10 rating. Apparently it's not too popular with viewers, but I loved it. Why? Hmm, maybe it's because I hate the 21st century, I hate the digital age and it's nice to see a movie where there's not a single damned cellular phone in sight. Maybe I'm happy to find a movie made in 2014 that doesn't have any crude humor in it. Maybe it's all the Eighties nostalgia, how the fashion, makeup, cars, music and script all matches up to the era, or maybe it's the far out animation featured in the title credits? If you're looking for a funny, old school-style movie with decent acting and a good plot, this is definitely one you'll want to see! The plot follows a very eventful summer in the life of Rad (Radical, poor kid) Miracle, a teenage boy growing up in 1985 who gets dragged along with his mom, dad and slightly gothy-looking sister to a summer house in Maryland. It's right up there with movies like The Ice Storm (1997), Harold and Maude (1972), Super 8 (2011), National Lampoon Vacation (1983), Sleepaway Camp (1983) and My Girl (1991) for memorable coming-of-age movies. I was sorta dreading Ping Pong Summer at first but I'm glad I watched it; it was hilarious without being rude, and the characters were all really original, odd in a good way, and it honestly deserves a better rep.

Even though the film feels somewhat similar to the film the way way back in which both films are set in the summer and having the two main characters attempting to rediscover themselves. However in this film the character rad played by newcomer Marcello conte who has two obsessions hip hop music and ping pong. While on vacation in ocean city Maryland for the summer rad meets a friend named Theo and gets his first crush named Stacie. However he also has to deal with racist rich kids dale and Lyle. What I liked about the film was the music scenery and clothes. I loved how it portrayed rads quiet persona to a confident young man. It feels like a great homage to 80s films.

Getting used to Michael Tully's Ping Pong Summer is a bit like getting to know and getting used to the lead character of the film. At first, it's a little awkward, being that he bears a different style and different vibes than many of us, but through his motivation, his charming character, and his unabashed innocence, we grow to like him quite a bit and admire his sensibilities that amount through his struggle.Tully's film is the same way, as its nostalgia-soaked screenplay and excessive use of dated lingo initially makes the film a harder project to adapt to. Not to mention, it's made even harder when the film seems to be throwing nostalgia in our face for no real reason whatsoever other than to remind us how primitive and easier life was back then, as we see closeups of Nike jumpsuits, obnoxiously large boomboxes, and Run D.M.C. cassette tapes here and there. Yet, as the film carries on with its nostalgia and its simple, underdog story, we see the film as a little time capsule of such a period that fittingly respects when it was set and isn't afraid to even subtly critique the time period for all the goofiness and eccentricities it brought forth.The film stars Marcello Conte as Rad Miracle, a shy teenage boy going on a family vacation to Ocean City, Maryland for the summer of 1985. Despite having relatively no friends, he clings to an equally quirky black kid named Teddy Fryy (Myles Massey), who shares his love for rap music and ping pong, the only two things that matter in the minds of these two. The two spend their days roaming around Ocean City, frequenting a place called "The Fun Hub," which is an indoor arcade equipped with ping pong tables, games, drinks, and food - basically all a kid of any time period needs when they're thirteen-years-old. Rad quickly notices and develops a crush on Stacy (Emmi Shockley), an attractive blonde teenager who is often seen sipping on an ICEE. Teddy informs Rad that Stacy is a "funk punch" drinker, which is a drink where people put Pop Rocks or Pixie Sticks (or even Cocaine) into an ICEE to increase the sugar intake or to increase the power of a brain freeze. Ostensibly, this little screen writing inclusion has no purpose whatsoever, but it only reminds us of the stupid things we did when were kids, mixing drinks (at one point Rad asks for a "suicide" drink at a bar, which is a little bit of every fountain soda mixed together), or creating our own foods to have at snack-time. I remember putting Sweet N Low or Splenda in Diet Coke late at night when I'd have sleepovers with buddies to make us stay up longer.Moreover, Rad and Teddy eventually attract the attention of two local bullies, one of whom is the son of the richest family in Ocean City. After constant harassment, Rad challenges him to a ping pong duel to see who really is the champion in Ocean City. Meanwhile, Rad and Teddy engage in some fun of their own, even going to the beach with Stacy and Stacy's other friend, along with just trying to come to terms that this friendship is only temporary.Ping Pong Summer plays a lot of the same instruments as last year's coming of age marvel The Way, Way Back, who focused on a lonely teenager who went on a vacation with his family, hated his mom's boyfriend and all the smarmy adults that surrounded him, and found solace working at a waterpark with all the eccentric locals who were his coworkers. The core difference in both films is that The Way, Way Back touched on harsher issues, such as family relations, isolation, and solace within a group of people you'll never see again in a way that was levied by the aforementioned theme. Ping Pong Summer keeps it simple, with waves of nostalgia making up for the lack of really any underlying ideas of loneliness; we don't have the feeling that Rad is destined to be alone forever, but he has yet to find his in-crowd. Duncan, the main character in The Way, Way Back, we could believe may be alone in life for a very, very long time.Ping Pong Summer may not be as deep as its other films of the genre, and it may try too hard to get by on the superficiality of its time period, but it is a shockingly entertaining film on the basis that its actors are all on par with the material (even Susan Sarandon, who really exercises her role nicely), the decor and aesthetic of the time period is artfully done, and even the final battle, while obligatory, has one cheering internally or externally for the lead character. Bottom line, the film is a lot of fun, and much like the summer that our lead characters are experiencing, we reflect on the experience with certain joy.Starring: Marcello Conte, Myles Massey, Emmi Shockley, John Hannah, Lea Thompson, Amy Sedaris, Robert Longstreet, and Susan Sarandon. Directed by: Michael Tully.

Let's be honest, this is a terrible movie. What an odd mix of veteran actors (Susan Sarandon, Leah Thompson etc.) quite literally smashing up against terrible novices like the lead character's sidekick, Myles Massey. I continue to be amazed that people are actually paid to cast movies and they come up with bad actors all the time. The sidekick role is crucial here, yet they choose a kid who can't act. Go figure. Watching Sarandon, John Hannah and Leah Thompson attempt to add some flow to the movie while working with terrible actors reminds me of Natalie Portman struggling with Robot Hayden Christensen in the Star Wars prequels. I guess it has something to do with movie budget; perhaps they ran out of money after paying Sarandon, Hannah and Thompson.Every once it awhile we see some promise, as when Rad and his family visit his Aunt and her husband. Amy Sedaris and Robert Longstreet show how it's done and provide a hint of what the movie might have been. Also Rad's sister was more than adequate in her role.All this aside, the movie does well with costumes and general 1980s era eastern shore vibe, that's about it. The pacing is excruciating as we wait for lead character Rad to meet up with Susan Sarandon and when he finally does, it's almost a throwaway scene and before you know it we're (mercifully) at the finish line.If the director was attempting some sort of filmmaking homage, I missed it completely. So much more could have been done for the eastern shore/Ocean City in a movie like this. I'm being brutally honest when I say that all during the movie I kept thinking how I could have rounded up some buddies and a mini HD camera and done a much better job. I kid you not. It's that bad.