I just gave it a straight ten, this film totally surprised and charmed me. It completely avoids any cliché that seems to perpetuate in so many girls films. In this film girls are so refreshingly _not_ the little self - centered gigglers whose main and only subject are boys, and main plot is _not_ around petty fight that two of them had.There are some deep and challenging events for kids at that age in the plot, and yet the movie is never a *drama*. It is represented the way kids handle it - just like you rarely see a kid just blocked - they accept and move on. It may appear light hearted, an it is in a way, but that is because it remains true to that particular perspective - kids cope with certain events, ups or downs, better than the adults do (obviously, not talking about extremes now). Another point that I loved about the movie is that I have miserably failed whenever I thought that I had a particular character all figured out. I didn't. I loved the Valerie Mahaffey performance - brilliant. Girls as well.

I just tried to watch this with my six year old...NO WAY. The content is way to mature and heavy for a child. I enjoyed it alone as a forty year old but no way will I let my child watch this movie at her age. Life should be fun and happy and carefree...the do not need to even worry about these adult situations so young.....what happened to letting our kids be kids...they grow up fast enough.Again....GREAT movie if you are an adult...but not at all for children to have to even think about. Loved the story line and the characters are great...but not for anybody under the age of 16...way too heavy for anybody under that age to comprehend or even understand.

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

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.