And Then Came Summer

It's really sad that this film is so horrible. It's obvious that a lot of love, care, and energy went into the making of it. The actors, according to the extras on the DVD, really loved the venture, putting a great deal of themselves into this film. Problem is the script is dreadful, with a few exceptions the acting is horrible, and the direction is so poor that you'll walk away from this film wishing for your time and your money back.

The main problem is that all the good things in the story -- the abduction, the relationship between the brothers and the fathers and the teens in love -- are just plopped down in front with no sense of drama, care, or even thrill. The most interesting bit of the movie, the abduction of one of the characters, wasn't even in the theatrical release according to the DVD. What could have gotten the film off to a bang and left the audience curious, wondering what was going on, invested in the film, never happens. We're left wondering what went wrong with the writing, the directing and everything else.

Jesse Petrick just isn't up to the task of carrying the film. He's -acting- the whole time without an honest note to his performance. Mathieu Smith does an admirable job with his more complicated role. For a first timer, he walk away with his scenes with Petrick. It's a shame that Smith hasn't, as far as IMDB says, had any more work.

Overall, wait for cable. Then hold your breath. The movie is a lot better if you are oxygen deprived and hallucinating good performances and a script that makes sense.