Summertime
Good Deed Entertainment | Release Date: July 9, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Original-CinLiam LaceyOct 5, 2021
Carlos López Estrada, who directed 2018’s Oakland-set Blindspotting, developed this original “spoken word musical” from the work of young Los Angelean poets into a sort of contemporary version of Fame. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 26, 2021
The energy, humor and wit of the early scenes carry it. And the pathos of the later scenes, along with a burger joint break down and the fun in discovering the secret to any rapper’s success as a novelty act (rapping about “my mom”) make even the slow jams go down easy, leaving a warm, fuzzy afterglow that makes LA seem nicer and maybe a trifle less superficial than its image. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 16, 2021
Director Carlos López Estrada’s Summertime creates a mosaic of pre-COVID Los Angeles (it was filmed in 2019) through words, action, dance and music. The usual movie musical building blocks, in other words. But not in the usual way. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonJul 16, 2021
On paper, it sounds iffy; in execution, however, it’s absolutely glorious, a gleeful glide through adolescence that doesn’t gloss over pangs of grief or grimmer thoughts. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 15, 2021
The movies have a long history of “kids putting on a show.” Summertime belongs to that tradition even as it expands its boundaries into the heartsore world offscreen. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleJenny NulfJul 14, 2021
Summertime’s boisterous enthusiasm sometimes finds an endearing spark, but it never erupts like the fireworks that scatter across the L.A. skyline at the film’s end. It’s a mess and it’s exhausting, with its heart always on the brink of exploding from its exhilarating optimistic nature. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 13, 2021
Summertime is the first movie ever like Summertime, and on that basis alone, we should appreciate it. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJul 12, 2021
Billed as a spoken-word musical, but only occasionally utilizing the visual idioms of song and/or dance — and only rarely harnessing the two together — the film is nevertheless an exuberant hodgepodge of everyday joy and frustration (and the occasional mild trauma). Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesRobert DanielsJul 8, 2021
The sunny, diverse musical delivers sugary messages of self-affirmation with the shine of a lollipop and the stickiness of a half-eaten sucker. It’s a bold attempt, putting a neo-realist spotlight on a bevvy of first-time and nascent actors, but presented under an obnoxious treacle banner. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeJul 8, 2021
The collaborative spirit of the project is inspiring, enough to recommend the film to creative teenagers and theater kids of all ages. The poetry can be pretty engaging, too, once you get over yourself. Read full review
50
The New York TimesTeo BugbeeJul 8, 2021
The most successful sequences are the ones that find new ways of illustrating the meaning of a poem besides lingering on the face of the performer uttering purposefully syncopated and painstakingly intonated lines. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 6, 2021
It’s experimental in the best way; Estrada takes chances, and not every segment works. But pieced together they tell a full and rich tale of a city and the people who live there, and the diversity of their stories. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 28, 2020
This fleet-footed, kaleidoscopic showcase is all about finding your voice so that the world can start to appreciate what it doesn’t know about those it hears from far too seldom. Read full review
80
Screen DailyTim GriersonJan 28, 2020
The result is a deeply touching tapestry that celebrates the diversity and cultural richness of LA, while at the same time exploring the hopes and fears of a generation heading into an uncertain adulthood. Read full review
50
SlashfilmBen PearsonJan 28, 2020
It’s a soulful slice of life movie, but one that has so many slices that you end up with multiple pizzas by the time the end credits roll. And hey, everyone loves pizza, right? But when you have a belly full of it, you can look back and realize that there is such a thing as too much. One thing’s for sure: you won’t see another movie like it this year. Read full review
95
TheWrapCarlos AguilarJan 28, 2020
López Estrada and company not only subvert lazy assumptions about their misunderstood metropolis and who lives and thrives there, but they also entirely shift the focus to the unheard and unseen for a wonderful reinvention. You’ll never see L.A. the same again and that’s for the better. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeJan 28, 2020
While this hodgepodge contains the occasional lovely or eloquent moment, as one would expect after Estrada's captivating 2018 Sundance debut Blindspotting, those are overshadowed by material that grates on all but the most forgiving ear, in a semi-narrative setting that clearly just cares about getting from one aria to the next. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jan 28, 2020
By its nature, the film is uneven—Estrada shares screenwriting duty with a whopping 25 poets, and as with any poetry slam, some performances are better than others, both in terms of the words themselves and in the highly variable acting abilities of these mostly first-time stars. Read full review
75
The Film StageDan MeccaJan 28, 2020
Frankly, this is content that makes one feel a bit better about the future. All the poems may not connect, all of the performances may not stick, and the ending may play a bit more maudlin than intended, but the energy on display and the goodness therein should be enough to melt the coldest of hearts. Read full review
80
Film ThreatAlan NgJan 28, 2020
Ultimately the success of Summertime comes from director Estrada and his crew, who put the film together with a small semblance of a story. They masterfully piece each poem and poet together like a jigsaw puzzle. Read full review
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