INDIAN SUMMER
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
RATING: 5.6 out of 10 (C-, *1/2 out of *****)
Date Released: 4/23/93 Running Length: 1:42 Rated: PG-13 (Mature themes, sexual situations, language)
Starring: Alan Arkin, Matt Craven, Diane Lane, Bill Paxton, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Pollak, Sam Raimi, Vincent Spano, Julie Warner, Kimberly Williams Director: Mike Binder Producers: Jeff Silver and Robert Newmeyer Screenplay: Mike Binder Music: Miles Goodman Released by Touchstone Pictures
A group of eight friends gather together at the camp where they spent several halcyon summers two decades ago. The camp director, Uncle Lou (Alan Arkin) has invited them back for a final get-together as he prepares to close the camp. Of course, there are various interpersonal dramas that have to be resolved. The marriage between Matt (Vincent Spano) and Kelly (Julie Warner) is on the rocks, a situation that is exacerbated by the presence of Matt's old flame Jennifer (Elizabeth Perkins). Jack (Bill Paxton) is trying to come to terms with his past. A year after her husband's tragic death, Beth (Diane Lane) is still trying to recover. Jamie (Matt Craven) brings alone his fiancee Gwen (Kimberly Williams), who is ten years his junior.
There are some pretty good laughs in this film. One hilarious sequence involves Sam Raimi (the director of such films as the EVIL DEAD series) attempting to transfer baggage from a canoe to a dock. In another scene, Bill Paxton relates the humorous events surrounding his first erection. Both of these instances, as well as a few others, had the entire audience in stitches.
Unfortunately, the good-but-uneven sense of comedy and some excellent performances cannot camouflage the shallowness of the plot, the ineptness of the direction, and the pitifully juvenile dialogue. This movie desperately needed someone competent to take control, and writer/director Mike Binder is clearly not that person. Someone in high school could have crafted better lines for the characters, and Binder is obsessed with close-ups. He too often uses them in the most inappropriate of places, diluting tension and weakening interaction between the actors.
The story is simplistic and the character conflict weak. There isn't an original moment in the film. Coming-of-age stories have been done so often that for one to make an impression, it needs to find a new angle (PETER'S FRIENDS, Ken Branagh's recent film, although clearly superior to this production, fell into the same trap--little that's new). INDIAN SUMMER doesn't even attempt to strike out towards new ground. It finds a comfortable, cliche-filled groove and sits there.
The ensemble cast does a marvelous job from top to bottom. Alan Arkin, the consummate professional, is wonderfully dry as director of the camp. Kevin Pollak puts his wit to good use, although his one-theme jokes become tiresome after a while. Sam Raimi, not known for his acting, gives a credible performance as the glassy-eyed, inept Stick.
The actors are so good, in fact, that despite being given paper-thin characters and embarrassing lines, they almost pull it off. Now and then, I found INDIAN SUMMER drawing me in simply because these performers are nearly perfect. All of them have been in good projects in the past and doubtless we will be graced by additional fine performances in the future. If there's a reason to see INDIAN SUMMER, and it's a very slim one indeed, it's to see the cast.
INDIAN SUMMER is Mike Binder's semi-autobiographical tale about summers that he spent at camp. Obviously there's a lot of nostalgia involved for him, but he fails to get it across to the audience. Cheap cinematography tricks like graying out the film won't suddenly cause the audience to wax sentimental. Binder fails in both the directing and writing fronts and if he hadn't chosen such an exemplary cast, this could have been a real disaster. As it is, INDIAN SUMMER is just a singularly unremarkable and uninteresting movie.
James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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