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The Last of the High Kings More at IMDbPro »

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18 reviews in total

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9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
A better slant on coming of age stories., 16 March 2004

Author: yossarian100 from usa

A coming of age story for people who don't usually like coming of age stories, unfortunately renamed for American audiences a Summer Fling, which it is not about at all. Nor is it really much of a coming of age movie, in the sense the strongest character is the proddy hating Irish Catholic mother, played by Catherine O'Hara, a red haired overly political passionate nutcase who steals the movie from the kids. The kids, by the way, are interesting, amusing, and not idiotic, like those found in most Hollywood comedies. I found the movie entertaining and I appreciated not being patronized. If you're looking for something light, a little Irish, and a pleasant way to pass the time, check this out.

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Not a coming of age story., 9 July 2006

Author: volley8885 from phoenix, az

Many people may believe that "Summer Fling" is a coming of age story. From my perception, I see that this movie is about a 17 year old boy growing up in 1977 Dublin, named Frankie Griffin(played by Jared Leto) trying to discover his destination in life. The movie starts out with Frankie taking exams for his completion of school. The results to these exams will play an important matter if either Frankie is going to further his education or has to get a job. Catherine O'Hara plays Frankie's mother, Cathleen, who is very political and devoted to her country. Frankie's father, played by Gabriel Byrne, is a steady stage actor who is a minor influence in Frankie's life and also to the film, but plays an important element in the storyline. Throughout the film, Frankie tries to gain the respect of two protestant girls that Cathleen is not to fond of. However, Christina Ricci plays Erin, a girl who is from America, is of Irish decent, and not protestant. Cathleen welcomes Erin with open arms, and Frankie just ignores her. Many people may think that "Summer Fling" is about a boy who has a fantasy about being in love with one of the two protestant girls. But to everyone's surprise, "Summer Fling" is about a boy who is on his journey into coming into manhood and along the way picking his own path in his life. I believe that this film a great original story that will make you rethink about important matters in your own life and making dreams of your own.

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
A very good movie that should not have been renamed for US, 20 September 1999
Author: mush-5 from San Diego, CA

I really liked this movie, however I may have missed it if I only knew it by it's US video title, "Summer Fling". That really does not do this entertaining film about a young man and his wacky family justice. Catherine O'Hara was great as well as the rest of the cast. I wish US video makers would stop messing with Irish, UK and European film titles.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
An inside joke, 28 October 2007

Author: n-mo from Paris, France

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

It is tempting to dismiss this as a condescending survey of the only semi-modernized Ireland of Irish-Americans nostalgia, overbearing on dry humor that is not funny to anyone not broadly familiar with Irish history and sociology, and particularly so since the lead roles are filled by Americans. Yet as anyone who has been to Ireland will discover, it is difficult to draw the distinction between the packaged commercialization of Irish culture and Irish culture itself--partially because entities like the Guinness Irish Pub Co. are just plain good at what they do, so that the Irish themselves get wrapped up in it. (Go to any well-designed "Irish pub" in a major U.S. city and I guarantee you will find Irish people drinking there themselves.) With this in mind, it is a shame they had to change the U.S. title to the rather bland, Hollywood-esquire "Summer Fling" presumably to get into the theaters, since pretty much everyone who would want to see this movie would understand "The Last of the High Kings." But I suppose I digress.

Frankie Griffin is desperate to be "normal," yet stuck in a family of idiosyncrasies and waiting painfully for his exam results to return so that he can know whether he will be going to university. The film is not entirely clear what drives this desire for "normalcy," nor does it seem wholly sympathetic toward his somewhat immature proclamation of self-emancipation from the bonds of Catholicism, Fianna Fáil, and chastity. Frankie is apparently highly gifted in the letters and in music, yet he refuses to show this to anyone, even to the end. Perhaps, then, the admonition of his stern and quirky yet very loving mother that "There are plenty of good Protestants... It's a shame they're all dead" (along with accusing Jayne of being a "Protestant bitch," which she is, though not because of her Protestantism) is a hint that his true coming of age will only come with his embracing of his family and identity.

The Last of the High Kings is a fun little ride when it takes us into those nostalgic facets of 1970's Ireland and despite its theme, admits that no one these days really comes of age by 17. It is not, however, one of my favorites, owing to its choppy progression and holding back of sympathetic notes for the main characters.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Cracking film, 10 December 2006

Author: chrisp-44 from United Kingdom

Saw this film in Ireland when it came out and loved it then. Found it again on Amazon and I still think it's a great film. It is touching without being mawkish, wryly amusing. Makes me glad I'm half Irish!

Interesting introduction to Lorraine Pilkington, lovely girl and a talented actress.

The setting is perfect, faded gentility in an Ireland becoming more sophisticated. Some comment on the politics of both church and state, poking gentle fun at both. Not deeply intellectual, but fun without being facile.

If you like to see genuine human interaction, skilfully portrayed, you will love this film, now something of a period piece.

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4 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Jared Leto as an Irish boy, 2 April 2005

Author: Travis_Bickle01

Fine drama about an Irish family. The story is nothing new but the movie is very entertaining. There are some big names related to this movie. Gabriel Byrne was co-writer of the screenplay, producer and actor in this movie. There's also a small but funny role for Stephen Rea as a cab driver. The leading role is for Jared Leto, the guy who played also one of the leading role is the outstanding movie "Requiem for a dream". In "The last of the high kings" he also gives a good performance. Furthermore we have Emily Mortimer who gives an excellent performance as the sweet and beautiful Romy Thomas. Christina Ricci, who we know from "The opposite of Sex" is also in this movie as Erin.

In general this is a entertaining and sometimes funny movie, although there's nothing special in it. 7/10

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7 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
GREAT Movie, 4 January 2000

Author: Jeremiah (nscli4578@nsula.edu) from US

regardless what some would think about this movie...it was a great movie...those who don't like it probably stay pretty much on the side of the "shoot em up...kill em...kick em...punch em...destroy" type movies. For those who are more down to earth.. you will probably enjoy this movie emensely...

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8 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Superb movie acted out by superb actors, particularly Catherine O'Hara!, 4 June 2002

Author: braddlad from Derbyshire, United Kingdom

I purchased this movie because I wanted to see the acting that Catherine O'Hara was capable of, having seen her in Home Alone 1&2. She was marvelous. She was really funny and a really talented actor. She had the gift of making some parts of the movie funny and others, more saddening. All the other characters were also good and they also played their part wonderfully in making such a splendid film!!

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3 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
good performances, 18 May 1999

Author: Cindy from Los Angeles

Great performances by Catherine O'Hara and Gabriel Byrne as the parents of the Griffin household; both roles are very different (as far as I know) from what the actors usually play. Jared Leto proves himself to be a good actor and also shows he can do a convincing Irish accent.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Another title that has almost nothing to do with the movie content, 20 December 2008

Author: blackismylove from United States

I mean, it wasn't even a decent metaphor for anything. The plot had elements that could have been interesting, but I didn't care about any of the characters. Every time I thought it was progressing towards being something interesting, the movie would shift gears and start heading in another direction. And in addition, it was so predictable. There were too many cliché situations where I knew exactly what was going to happen next. Aside from Catherine O'hara's character, the movie lacked any real interesting personalities. Please, don't be mislead into thinking that this is going to be a good use of an hour and a half for you.

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