Summer Eleven (2010) Reviews

• A wonderful movie showing the beauty of friendship and compassion amidst difficult situations in four girls' lives.

  terrasoixante-sept2011-06-03

  Well, first off, my IMDb account was created tonight just so I could vote for Summer Eleven. Yesterday, my daughters saw this movie listed at Redbox and asked to see it; the review mentioned the movie was about four 11-year-olds the summer before entering middle school. I was a little hesitant since my girls are 8 and 6. We watched it together and were moved by the depth of the characters and the richness of their stories. When the movie was over, my 8-year-old and I kept saying, "That was Such a Good Movie!" As soon as my husband got home from work, the three of us couldn't wait to tell him we found a Great movie and to ask if he'd want to watch it the next night. We did. And we loved it even more. This is a poignant film. I do feel that my girls got a wonderful glimpse into how rich friendship can be, and how compassion can make a difference. When returning the movie, I wanted to keep it. But then thought, if I did, this wonderful gem wouldn't be available to the next patron. My family one day will have this in our movie library. Eleven is the age of the four girls in Summer Eleven, however, one need not only be young in years to enjoy it.

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• The way it was... or at least, the way we wish it was

  IzzyTree2011-06-15

  This movie is a throwback to classic movies like Stand by Me: a tender, involving character-based coming of age story of four young girls. It is serious, yet with touches of humor here and there. The story line involves four girlfriends in their 11th summer, right before they enter middle school. The four girls include Vanessa (Alice Ziolkoski), an up-and-coming young actress who is amazingly unspoiled (probably because her mother, played very well by Valerie Mahaffey, keeps her feet firmly planted on the ground). Jess (Sarah Butterworth) is a young tomboy whose main concerns in life are her absent father and her mother's annoying live-in boyfriend. Lizzie (Meaghan Hughes) is the nerd of the group, a reader in glasses who is small for her age; but she must deal with some of the biggest issues there are when her older brother comes home wounded from Iraq. And Peri (Sydney Fox), brought into the group by Vanessa, is dealing with her own difficult issues: an unemployed mother who lives with her and her brother out of her car. Yes, that's a lot of "issues." However, a film that might have become like four Movies of the Week rolled into one, somehow finds cohesion because of some delicate writing, as well as some very good, naturalistic acting by the four young actresses. Not to denigrate the adult actors; they are good, too (including Adam Arkin in a charming cameo); but the movie hangs on the able performances of the four young actresses. As examples of the good writing: When Vanessa's mom invites Peri's mom to stay in her guest house, it's done gently, with humor and sensitivity. When Lizzie's older brother finally comes out of his shell, once again, the light, deft touch of a master writer and good acting saved it from being a schmaltz-fest. Certain other hackneyed story lines were thankfully avoided (having the other girls compete with Vanessa for acting gigs, for example). Sometimes, the "issues" did seem to drag the viewer down into the "issue-mill," and things threatened to get a little depressing. However, scenes like that were always followed by light, delicate scenes between the four girls that seemed so REAL. One scene where the girls are swinging on a tree rope reminded me very much of my childhood summers where we did similar things. Another scene between the four girls and two of their boy "friends" gave me the chills, it seemed so real. If I were going to be picky, I could have done without the final scene of the movie, where one of the girls' concerns is wrapped up a little too neatly. However, over all, this was an extremely well-written and acted ensemble piece. There are very few PG-rated family movies of this quality these days. This is one I would highly recommend, especially for mothers and daughters to watch together. 9/10

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• A beautiful, beautiful film

  alanbernhoft2011-08-30

  Joseph Kell is a writer-director to be reckoned with. His vision and talent were already apparent in his wonderful short, "Cassie Hill" and his talents as a first rate storyteller come to full fruition in "Summer Eleven". A deceptively simple screenplay with first rate performances, mostly by children, this film hits on so many real subjects that most of us try to avoid, as seen through the eyes (and lives) of innocents kids. And yet, there is an overall sweetness and tenderness in the midst of pain, heartache and anguish that is all too real. One of the most human movies I've seen in a long time, with traces of Rob Reiner's "Stand By Me" This film is a complicated puzzle put together so masterfully, it hits you like a light poem that washes over you, yet changes you in some profound way. Who says film can't be art? SPOILER: Northern Exposure fans will relish the on screen reunion of genius actors Adam Arkin and Valerie Mahaffey. I did.

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• Most depressing movie ever!

  mattyandalex2016-05-14

  I rented this movie to watch with my 11 year old as we were going away for the weekend and thought it would be a perfect movie night movie to watch together. It looked heartwarming, entertaining, enjoyable and easy to relate to for my Miss 11. It was the MOST depressing, worst movie we had both seen. My 11 year old who is very easy to please extremely disliked it and at the end of it she even said, "I think that was the worst movie I've ever seen, Mum!" The acting was terrible, the story-line was depressing. Its basically a movie about four 11 year olds and all their problems in their lives. It doesn't even have any life lessons. Pity I hadn't taken another DVD on holiday with me as a back-up!

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• Terrible

  rhamalily2016-03-24

  When first viewing the cover of the movie on Netflix, I thought this movie would be about camping on a summer trip, the description also implies that. Very first glance at the movie, the casting was off with age and acting experience. This movie seems like it would be fun and family friendly but, it is NOT. SPOILER: There is one girl in the movie who's mother is dating an abusive guy that is very depressing. There is also another girl who's parents were going through a divorce and she was very depressed about it. Then, there was another girl who's brother just got back from war, and he was horribly disabled(missing a leg) and was an alcoholic which is a very negative influence of anyone. Also, the parents were also yelling at the brother and telling him that he needs to get his life together which can upset people who didn't go to college and parents nagged on them. Another little girl in the movie, was forced to do acting when she didn't want to. Also, the girls in the movie who were supposedly "best friends" rarely hung out together. END SPOILER: This movie also had no major events that made a plot. It was just a big group of little boring events. We would not recommend this movie to anyone unless you like making fun of awful and ridiculous movies.

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