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Indian Summer

Actor(s): Alan Arkin, Matt Craven, Elizabeth Perkins, Diane Lane, Kimberly Williams
Director(s): Mike Binder
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Movie Details

MPAA Rating: PG-13
Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Profanity, Substance Abuse, Sexual Situations
Movie Release: 1993
DVD Release: 09/03/2002
Format: DVD - Closed Captioned
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Number of Discs: 1
Run Time: 1 hrs 38 mins
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Total Copies: 4
Genres: Comedy Drama, Reunion Films, Ensemble Film

DVD Synopsis

Mike Binder wrote and directed this reunion story in The Big Chill vein about of group of ex-campers, now in their twenties, who return to their old summer camp to get together again. Alan Arkin plays Uncle Lou, the old camp counselor and resident sage at Canadian summer camp Tamakwa. Leading a group of contemporary youngsters wearing Walkmans on their heads to glory in the beauty of a majestic moose in the Canadian Northwoods, he realizes that the children of today are not the way children were in ancient times before 1993, so he decides to close up shop and shut down Camp Tamkwa for good. But before he does he invites a group of campers from the camp's golden age -- men and women now in their twenties -- an assortment of veteran campers who return to reflect on the past and sort out their troubles. The campers include Beth (Diane Lane), a woman who is adjusting to her husband's accidental death; Jennifer (Elizabeth Perkins), a single woman looking forward to renewing her relationship with fellow camper Matthew (Vincent Spano); Kelly (Julie Warner), Matthew's wife, feeling insecure because she knows Matthew is unhappy in the marriage; and Jamie (Matt Craven), a swinging bachelor with an eye for younger women. Rounding out the pack is Jack (Bill Paxton), who as a boy was kicked out of the camp for a mysterious reason. When he shows up at the camp, the rest of the campers are stunned. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Actors

Alan Arkin - Uncle Lou
Matt Craven - Jamie Ross
Elizabeth Perkins - Jennifer Morton
Diane Lane - Beth Warden
Kimberly Williams - Gwen Daugherty
Bill Paxton - Jack Belston
Vincent Spano - Matthew Berman

Editorial Review of DVD

Viewers can relive the dog days of summer camp with Indian Summer. The film is presented in 2.35:1 non-anamorphic widescreen (not full frame, as the package lists), and appears to be in excellent condition. While it's a shame the film wasn't given an anamorphic transfer, overall the colors and black levels all seem to be well saturated and even without any major defects marring the image. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround and is apt for the film it's supporting. While directional effects and Surround sounds are generally non-present, overall the track is free of any excessive hiss or distortion. Also included on this disc are English closed captions. Sadly, Touchstone has decided not to include even a theatrical trailer on this disc, making this edition of the film completely bare bones. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide

Member Movie Reviews

S A A. (Learned2Heal) wrote on 10/25/2009...

This is one of the (if not THE) worst movies I have seen in recent memory. It is a complete mystery to me how otherwise good or great actors of the likes of Alan Arkin, Diane Ladd, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Pollak and Julie Warner can get roped into a script that drags their talents down to subterranean levels.

The "story", such as it is revolves around a group of friends that get together at their summer camp, 20 years after the initial fact. This sounds like a fun premise, right? Well it could have been, if the writer and director had had any abilities at self-evaluation whatsoever... Such was not the case. So, what we are left with is a cheesy, boring, why-should-I-care-about-anything-these-people-say-or-do kind of massive yawn. My husband and I agreed to turn it off and end the misery after about 30 minutes of waiting for something interesting to happen.

Even the cinematography, which could have been a saving grace because of the location, was ruined because it started out in almost black and white, then morphed to an ochre wash for as long as we were watching. Very annoying having beautiful lake/mountain sceneries and fall colors blunted by a wash of yellow. If it was meant to instill a certain mood, it turned out to be a bad one. The whole effect was just plain yicky and disturbing.

The score was awful too. It was this overdone, lilting, playful, cartoonish kind of music that might have worked if the plot could carry it. It couldn't. So, instead of being evocative, it ended up just grating.

Sometimes there are movies that are so bad they turn out to be entertaining anyway. Unfortunately, this movie didn't even have that going for it.

Did not like this movie at all and, even though I am trying to pass on my copy with 4 other people before me, in good conscience, I cannot recommend it.