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BonsaiForest a collection of small trees (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
a collection of small trees
07/15/2018 09:47:33 •••

Pretty much what you'd expect middle schoolers to make, not that it's bad

An organization in Iowa named "Leadership Through Drama" lets middle school students make their own films. This is the result: a movie written by, produced by, directed by, and starring (in all non-adult roles plus some adult roles) middle and high school students. And it shows.

Bradley's Summer shows its kid-like mentality both in its muddled, random yet fun plot, and in the way it casually violates taboos.

The plot involves a "detective club" of kids who try to solve local crimes, except that they're so bad at it that the local police don't trust them. Bradley is randomly added to their group because he happened to bump into them while walking through town. That's as good a reason as any.

Fortunately for our detective club, an actual crime randomly presents itself when a terrorist mistakenly contacts one of the girls in the group via instant messaging, because he happened to make a typo when trying to contact one of his henchmen. Said terrorist also happens to be planning to blow people up at Bradley's house.

The logic in the movie is ridiculous and contrived, but if you turn off your brain and just enjoy the fun and the fast pacing, it's acceptable. So Bradley's aunt is a congresswoman, yet lives in a regular suburban house, with a butler. A party being held in her honor has what must be only about a dozen guests (if that), and is hardly fancy. When the kids expose the terrorist plot and rush off to rescue the kidnapped girl, the adults just wish them luck and don't bother to come along, hold them back, or call the cops.

And then there are the taboos. There are certain generally unspoken rules that adult filmmakers follow when making films either about or for kids, that the kid filmmakers behind Bradley's Summer either didn't know about or didn't care about.

Whatever the reason, we get villains who are actually threatening enough that they hold a knife to a kid's throat, and point a gun at a kid's head. We also get a Squicky joke that an adult would be terrified to make, but a teenager would just find funny.

The movie is cheesy, but it's also fast-paced and doesn't waste time making things happen, which is more than I can say for many "professional" films. For being made by kids, it's actually impressive.

Runnie Since: Jul, 2018
07/15/2018 00:00:00

Love your review. I felt the same way. When I first read the 90 page script I thought it was to contrived, had way to many coincidences and was completely unbelievable. Yet there were three young people who believed in their movie and decided to go ahead with it. After seeing the very first scene they edited of the movie in which the kids make a run to the lake with the bomb I had a ray of hope that the movie just might work. It did too. When I saw the final cut I fell in love it. I have wondered long on why. The characters are believable and likable. They did a great job of applying the story telling skills they had learned in class and by watching movies critically. And finally, something I had forgotten, their movie captured the spirit and imagination of youth. I was suddenly living a fond memory of those years, one filled with wonder and imagination, not yet destroyed by adulthood. Perhaps that is why the movie has a strong fan base around the world. In 2017, 12 years after its release, the movie brought in enough money to cover two years of college scholarships for graduating high school students. Thanks for the review. I am still amazed at the following this movie has developed. - Ron Hines, Producer


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