Summer Thunder (2003) User Reviews

A Delightful Surprise

[ApolloBoy109 · 6/10 · 23 May 2007]

What we have here is a true indie film. Daring, provocative but none-the-less interesting to watch. Yes, to all those who comment on the lack of budget but we've all seen films with millions behind them that failed to tell a descent story.This is certainly an original one.

Summer Thunder had many unexpected turns, and truly is interesting. The leads did a fine job and though a few of the supporting actors were not Yale Drama School ready -- everyone tried their best.

To that end it was a delight to follow Billy Lee on his journey, odd as it was, it certainly grabs you.

I hope more people will watch movies of this kind. It encourages film makers to break the mold and think out of the box. If we only had main stream flicks in the gay world, we'd be stuck with HIV related dramas, or horrible comedies about coming out.

Days of being wild

[ozma17 · 1/10 · 6 May 2004]

I'll be brief, though the length of this video film is everything but short. The director announced that he was influenced by the works of fassbinder, Solondz and Waters. Now I love Fassbinder, I also admire the work of Solondz, About Waters who's not one of my favourits I can say he's naughty, wickedly naughty(in a way I guess it's a compliment as well). But I didn't see a trace of these in Spencer's film. It's far from being sharp as Solondz' work, It's far from being daring, amazing, heart breaking and visually stunning as any of the Fassbinder films. It's an ugly film, most of the time written and acted badly, photographed poorly and I'm not talking on video problems. The ugliest Dogma film looks better then this. It's a waste of time and the composer had a nerve to try to create emotion with his music. I wish I could say something about the story, the characters, anything-good or bad but I can't, nothing left. I find bad films much more interesting then good ones, because u can understand what the director meant and see were he got lost. But here-absolutely nothing.

on the other hand this film won 3 awards ! So I guess it's either my problem or someone else's Sorry, but being daring I guess is far from doin' good.

Storm Warning

[NJMoon · 1/10 · 21 July 2006]

Okay, I'm going out on a limb here, but the opening scene of the mystifyingly titled SUMMER STORM reminded me of THE MUDGE BOY (and it's short predecessor, FISH BELLY WHITE): An awkward young farm boy bites the head off a chicken. Except here the farm boy is a former porn star now reduced to being a fluffer (if you don't know what that is, put your player on 'pause' now and rent the film THE FLUFFER), the 'chicken' is actually not poultry but the human variety, and the 'head' is...well, I think you get the idea.

This film is inexplicably repulsive, with awful videography, unattractive performers speaking stilted and unmotivated dialogue. The plot is surreal and unbelievable. Somehow I thought this was a comedy - but the only thing funny here is just how demented some writer/director/editors can be in the name of independent film making. If this is SUMMER THUNDER, give me a winter blizzard any day.

Surprisingly original and touching

[ScottyBoy4 · 10/10 · 14 June 2004]

I loved this film! Finally a movie with gay characters that's thought provoking and funny without featuring vapid pretty boys coming out of the closet and finding true love. These characters are crazy and so deeply unsettling that I couldn't take my eyes off them. They're enchanting and flawed and I just wanted to give each one of them a hug! The dialogue is witty and brutally honest. The movie is like a warped after school special. It's sentimental but at the same time totally bizarre and crass. It reminded me of the TV show Strangers With Candy. This

movie is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's surprising, heartwarming, disturbing, twisted and utterly original. I can't wait to see what this director can do when he has a bigger budget.

Loved it.

[kirbyko3 · 8/10 · 12 September 2004]

I just saw this movie at the Pioneer Theatre in NYC, and LOVED it. It's shot on digital video which takes a few minutes to get used to, but the story is definitely original and the ending is not-so-happy. The characters are 3-dimensional and interesting (and not your typical muscleboy lunkheads that you see in most gay movies!). There's also a really pointed sense of humor throughout, as you get to see how some people are just destined to be exploited and can never quite escape the vicious circle. I was surprised at how tight and cohesive the story was, too -- most indies aren't so well-put-together.

Definitely catch a screening of this if you can, or rent the DVD!