Summerhood (2008): Dir: Jacob Medjuck, Tony Dean Smith / Cast: Scott Beaudin, Raquel Alessi, Jesse Cammacho, Joe Flaherty, Christopher McDonald: Independent summer teen camp comedy that reflects on those innocent days of yesteryear where the door is open just a crack for the next phase of life. Unfortunately this lacks the memorable characters and funny situations that rendered Meatballs such a popular summer comedy. The big issue that directors Jacob Medjuck and Tony Dean Smith heave at us is the romantic hints between underage characters. In reflection, most of us view summer camp at the age of these characters as being anything but parading after girls. Meatballs did this but it was between the counselors and their social hyjinks. It has the total opposite affect here and comes off as creepy as oppose to funny. It also doesn't help that none of these characters are remotely memorable. Even the presence of Joe Flaherty and Christopher McDonald cannot help breath new life into tired retreads. The kids have about as much life as the average store window mannequin. It fails to teach anything about growing up whereas Meatballs bore humour from experience. What we have here looks less impressive than your neighbor's vacation slides. Best advice is to watch Meatballs and try to lose the ugly memory of this drab film ever being in existence. Score: 1 / 10

Canadian with rich dad and big aspirations writes, produces, directs, and stars in a Meatballs camp-hi-jinx derivative with himself in the cool counselor, i.e., Bill Murray, role. A bit raunchier and pottier-mouther than Meatballs and some of the sound quality is pretty amateur; some of the kids' lines are pretty muffled. Great soundtrack and narration by John Cusack save it from a lower rating.Flaherty is hapless camp director and McDonald plays well his comic villain role a la Shooter McGavin. Tripper and Rudy, ah, I mean, Careless and Fetus get their respective girls. Cute but derivative. Still better than Meatballs 2, et seq.

Someone wrote a review stating it's about four best friends that hate each other, this simply isn't the case and I think this person has forgotten their childhood.This movie was very well written and even better directed.The actors (especially the kids)did a wonderful job of recreating that feeling you only get as a child.Kids are quite literally 'innocence personified' and this movie captures that very well, I recall my childhood and I regret trying to grow up too fast. I watched this movie and it took me right back to the first time I held a girls hand, my first kiss etc, and learning the terminology of (mostly cruel)sayings that eventually help us grow.I'm not a child of the 80's rather a child of the 70's but there is still enough child left in me to grab this movie with both hands and become completely involved with it and remember all those years ago when the seed of things that make us who we are today was planted.Summer camp when I was a kid was not overseen by older kids (our peers) if you will, and I think this movie touched on that whole generation gap feeling you have when you're little and someone only five years older seems old and wise, these 'watchers' were not discouraging these kids to do what they wanted, rather they advised the kids and that's how it was for me, the ever so 'older and wiser' offering me advice that was of course for the most part naive and or made up.I'm not going to ruin this movie for others by including a spoiler, this is a movie to sit with your wife and kids, and your parents and watch their faces twinge as they too recall those little awkward moments.I truly loved this movie and although I watched this on my own, you can make book I will watch it again with my now adult children to see their reactions.Musical score is brilliant as is the narration by John Cusack, he has a great voice for this movies narration.There are a couple of reasons I didn't score a 10 on this film, but I'm sure those who view will know why I didn't go the extra couple of yards.All in all a great movie that for me only brought back fond memories of my misspent youth. Loved it. 8/10

I saw Summerhood at the 2008 Maui film festival. By far one of the best movies played. The time of the movie was set in the late 80's to early 90's. I was about the same age as the kids in the early 90's.A great job was done with the fine details to fit this strange place in time were the 80's ended and the 90's began.(the ninja turtles references made my night!) This movie is truly a instant classic if you grew up in this time. More movies should be made with this kind of truth and honesty about kids at this age. I knew way more than my parents ever thought I did. I'm sure kids today know even more. Its time we wake up to the fact that kids are not as innocent as we make them out to be. The child actors were great,it really felt like the words belonged to the kids not a script. Good work everyone who worked on this film...............ALOHA