directed by:
Benjamin Vomastek written by: Benjamin Vomastek genre: Comedy |
Summers have obviously got a whole lot wilder than they were when I was a kid. For sure, Benjamin Vomastek clearly has no problem writing with an air of deviance and defiance. He'll actually make that apparent right from the very first line in the script – which he actually says himself when taking on the role of an Uber driver. Big stretch there, ain't it? Aren't all independent film directors by night also Uber drivers by day? Hmmmm...
We've got the classic scenario of 'one more summer together' in "Hometown Summer," which has, of course, been done countless times, yet it's always a concept that feels welcome when we see it refreshed. Your main characters are Owen (Ryland Gigante), Sean (Henry J), and Brian (Benjamin Corsi), who are the leading core group of friends, and each has their own fairly distinct personality. Owen has bigger plans than they originally thought for the year ahead and has been making some major dough. Sean, it seems is comfortable doing whatever it is that he does now for the rest of his life. Brian is right in the sweet spot in between as the inexperienced kid who has no real clue what life is even about yet. Cut to the scene in the bedroom early on as he imagines what it'll be like to talk to the girl that he's into, with such riotously graphic detail that you have to wonder if the kid will ever be in a position to get laid. This close group of three friends has started to go their own separate ways. You've got Owen who wants to smoke his weed. You've got Sean, who brought a giant bag of coke. You've got Brian who has now taken to edibles in protein bars. If you're not familiar with your substances, these are like their own completely separate genres, y'all. In any event the party gets underway immediately after they start to take their respective drugs of choice. Brian bends the rules first and gives into a little of the ol' peer pressure, doing coke and going far beyond the three light beers he cut out enough calories to have. Chaos quickly ensues, but the fractures in their friendship and plans get revealed pretty quickly, too. Owen is all kinds of upset because things aren't going how he thought they would, largely because of Sean, who still couldn't give less of a fu*k, and Brian has his eyes so wide and his facial expressions so huge as he takes it all in, you have to wonder if Corsi is going to grow up to be Richard Kind one day. Cocaine starts to rule the night, which is a little unfortunate for Brian, who is trying to keep it cool when his crush Samantha (Joie Culligan) shows up. His skills with the ladies were clearly not part of his studies in school, and he's struggling. You and I and everyone out there watching already know that these two are destined to find their way back together somehow, despite the awkwardness, but admittedly, Brian seems so clueless as to how to go about getting a date that you really have to question if he'll be able to mask his inexperience long enough to even get a phone number. Thankfully, Samantha does not entirely oppose it, so he gets a little help from her. Owen and Sean are quite happy to point out how inept Brian is, but they're also the kind of friends who want the kid to get his tip wet and are continually encouraging him to get some. Samantha is fun, patient & kind, and after a first date with Brian, it seems like he might have a legitimate shot. Owen and Sean are beyond perplexed that he's so incapable of banging Samantha right away. "Do you have a medical condition that I'm not aware of? I don't see a bracelet!" Owen seems to be under the impression that an empty bedroom automatically equates to panties droppin' and is relentlessly confused by how Brian defies his logic. So it's the old 'will they or won't they' type of plot…as to whether or not you consider "Hometown Summer" to be some kind of Comedy/Romance… I'll leave that up to you to decide.
The love affair they've got going on is much stronger with drugs than it is with ladies, but that'll work itself out with time, right? It's not anything that creating another podcast wouldn't be able to resolve, which they get high enough to think is a good idea. Their listening audience immediately feels otherwise. Samantha finds something in common with Brian at long last – and who knew, it was the edibles that brought them closer together! Sean is making a ton of money slangin' coke to a bunch of random strangers. Brian and Samantha start coloring with crayons in one of this raunchy film's more sincerely endearing scenes, and it begins to feel like these two might find their way together after all. Brian's trying to build an entire relationship out of this situation, while Owen and Sean are continually looking to bang. Different strokes for different folks! Will Brian ever get it in? Will continued education get in the way? So many questions to be answered! Bonus points to Ben Armes, who plays Travis. Dude's got a lot on his plate as the over-the-top wildcard, but I felt like he navigated it well and delivered some genuine laughs. Like when he pulls up to Owen's house with the blown-out sound of his speakers blaring, and he's super proud of the subs he just got installed even though it's clear his system sounds like shit. I was friends with that kid! Not Ben, of course, but a version of Travis… we'd drive around all over the place and as much as I was convinced the sound in his old Ford Granada was garbage, I don't think either of us cared; we just turned it up even more. Ben has fun with the role, growling out his lines from the script in a lower register than you know his voice would be if you just talked to him on the street. I almost died when a stripper came into the room they were hanging out in, asks, "Who's ready for a prostate milking?" and Travis was the only one with his hand proudly up at the most wonderfully inappropriate time. David D West, who plays Tim, also gets a shout-out as the invasive adult that talks way too freakin' long all the time. Kaitlyn (Anna Yarnal) does a great job as Samantha's overdramatic friend, and Courtney (Savanna Adams) balances it out by being the more willing party girl. Brian's parents are quite something as well – Tina (Michelle Mosley) seems nice enough & his dad, Steve (Eli Elliott), is responsible for more than a few laughs along the way. So look… it'd be foolish to say that "Hometown Summer" is revolutionizing the plot-line of young love – BUT…I did feel like Vomastek created a highly watchable film. Largely, that's due to solid casting. The main three in Corsi, Gigante, and J all hold their own with confidence – and the supporting cast was equally competent. I don't know that everything was necessarily laugh-out-loud funny, but some of it certainly is, and it was continually amusing in a way that'll make you smile as you're watching. Things start to get a little off track about two-thirds in, and Brian starts to spiral out without any real reason for it. We all knew the kid was a little bit on the square side, to begin with, but he really seems to get heated as he continues to struggle with the concept of reverting back to the normal route people tend to take in life, which is really the main plot twist in "Hometown Summer" when it's all said and done. For the most part, you're merely watching a coming-of-age comedy that doesn't worry too much about its plot compared to its focus on getting that next laugh out of you. I'm impressed by how many jokes landed, though, and I suppose that was what was most concerning as Vomastek attempts to shift this movie into more dramatic terrain in its finale…I don't know if it really needed to. Do you know what I mean? Some things work best when playing to their strengths, which the majority of "Hometown Summer" does. I'm gonna go with three & a half stars here – the more fun this movie had, the more that we did watching it. |
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