It happens ever so often: just when you resign yourself to it that you have
seen it all, life throws you a pleasant surprise. This is exactly what happened
to all that decided to watch An American Summer, a movie that was advertised
as semi-porn and turned out to be a refreshing feel-good teen movie. And, the
biggest surprise was that our semi-porn viewers' fraternity sat right through
the movie and seemed to actually like it!
An American Summer has been inspired by 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer',
a classic that still appeals to all and sundry. Incidentally, our hero is also
called Tom, and is sent to California to spend his summer vacation with his
aunt. The reason - his parents are just too busy. Tom, a typical teenager, hates
the idea, but has no choice.
But when he is befriended by Fin (Brian Austin), his holiday turns into an exciting
adventure. Fin teaches Tom to surf and flirt and talk the talk that is totally
Californian. The proceedings become even more interesting when the two friends
witness a murder. They expose the wrongdoer Rockman, a local drug dealer (here,
one is reminded of Injun Joe from Tom Sawyer), turn into local heroes, and -
you guessed right - the girls love them.
But trouble starts when Tom and Fin take their new-found sweethearts for a picnic
to an abandoned cave. Rockman is lying in wait for them to seek his revenge.
A bit of ingenuity and courage from Tom save the day.
A typical teen movie, An American Summer is worth a watch if you can ignore
the sorry state of the print and poor audio.