Almost Summer

66
  • Genre(s):Comedy
  • Release year: 1978
  • Running time: 88 min
Almost Summer is a 1978 film directed by Martin Davidson, and produced by Motown Productions for Universal Pictures. It is the only Motown theatrical feature not to center on African-American characters. Though not successful at the box office, the...read more

Almost Summer is a 1978 film directed by Martin Davidson, and produced by Motown Productions for Universal Pictures. It is the only Motown theatrical feature not to center on African-American characters. Though not successful at the box office, the film has since acquired a certain degree of historical importance because many observers consider it to be the first of a series of distinctive "youth-genre" films of which other, more prominent examples include Fast Times at Ridgemont High and The Breakfast Club. Set in a generic Southern California high school, the plot of the film revolves around a student council election, which stirs up assorted petty jealousies among various characters. Most of the soundtrack was written by Mike Love of the Beach Boys and performed by a studio band assembled by Love known as Celebration. The title song, which became a mid-level hit single, opens with the lyrics "Susie wants to be a lady director, and Eddie wants to drive a hearse; Johnny wants to be a doctor or lawyer, and Linda wants to be a nurse" — reflecting a total lack of world-changing idealism on the part of the teenage characters, thus clearly marking them as the first wave of a new generation, which in the fullness of time would receive the label "Generation X." The best-known actor to star in the film was Tim Matheson, in the role of Kevin Hawkins. The film features three professional skateboarders: Bryan Beardsley, Ty Page, and Mark Bowden. The movie was rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America, but earned a B — "objectionable in part" — rating from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting; the latter body observed that "the film presents in uncritical fashion a suffocatingly materialistic and amoral environment, has offensive jokes at the expense of people with physical disabilities, and flaunts a gratuitous bit of nudity." Outdoor scenes were filmed at Verdugo Hills High School in Tujunga, California.

Original Release

08/26/1978

US Release

09/22/1978

Cast

(see additional cast & crew)

Directors

Martin Davidson

Writers

Martin Davidson, Judith Berg, Sandra Berg, Marc Reid Rubel

Cast

Producers

Editors

Lynzee Klingman

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