Indian Summer [HD]

The Big Chill meets Meatballs in funny, touching film
"Indian Summer" is a wonderful film saluting "the Golden Era" of Camp Tamakwa (a real camp in the Canadian/New York wilderness), but it's also about reconnecting with youth, friends, love and nature. Uncle Lou (Alan Arkin), Camp Tamakwa's camp supervisor for many years, invites campers from "the Golden Era" (the early to mid 1970s) as a reunion of sorts, and a group of friends and ex-campers make the trek back to the woods and their youth. Matt (Vincent Spano) and Kelly (Julie Warner) are on vacation to "work on their marriage;" Matt's having a mid-life crisis, and Kelly just wants to know where she stands. Jennifer (Elizabeth Perkins) is Matt's ex-camp-girlfriend and Kelly's best friend, swept away by the nostalgia of camp. Brad (Kevin Pollack) is Matt's cousin, business partner, King of the Shreks (camp pranks), and a constant commentator of how small everything's gotten. Beth (Diane Lane) is a ex-camp tomboy, whose husband Rick recently died...

Fantastic ensemble picture
"Indian Summer" isn't the sort of film I normally watch. A light comedy about the innocence of childhood contrasted with the problems of adulthood, the film engages in deep sentimentality on a regular basis. I am rarely suckered in by sappy, syrupy movies. "Indian Summer" is different; I first saw the film on cable back in the early 1990s and quickly learned to like its ensemble cast, wonderful scenery, and funny moments. Since I usually watch horror films, the irony of viewing a movie set at a summer camp where no one expires at the hands of a machete wielding madman still makes me chuckle. When I stumbled over a DVD version of "Indian Summer" recently, I knew I had to revisit the movie. I suspected I wouldn't enjoy it as much as I did ten years ago. I was wrong. The movie resonates even more deeply because I am ten years older than when I first saw it. I never went to summer camp as a child, except for a weekend stay as part of a sixth grade project, but I can completely identify...

recommended
It's apparently very difficult to make a film that is sweet and sentimental without also being mawkish, manipulative, corny, insulting, witless or juvenile (or one of dozens of other entertainment maladies). It makes one very partial to films, such as this one, that manage to succeed. Perhaps it is really an older person's film - for those who have seen the treasures of their youth destroyed by decay or progress or just changing fashions. Alan Arkin takes an indirect path to save the summer camp his family has run for decades. It doesn't sound like much, but the film is well written, extremely well cast, and manages in the end to be very touching, without the aforementioned ailments. Given that the Blu-ray disk costs no more than going to the theater (and a lot less if you pour your own soda), it is a real bargain. Highly recommended.

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