Griffin in Summer was the first feature film Nicholas Colia directed, and unfortunately, the lack of experience becomes evident. It follows an aspiring teenage playwright and director named Griffin as he learns — through trial and error — how to balance his work, his friendships, and his love interest. This film came close to developing into a strong coming-of-age movie, but lacked substance.
Griffin McNally (Everett Blunck) is a bizarre 14-year-old boy who tries to pass off his obsession as passion. Griffin sees himself as more mature as he bases his work off of what the adults around him are saying. Overall, he is a bratty protagonist who is very difficult to root for.
Casting was the strongest segment of this Griffin in Summer. Blunck’s performance was convincing, even uncomfortable, as his compulsion with his art cost him most of his age-appropriate friends. Death, taxes, and Melanie Lynskey of Yellowjackets, crushing the role of an out-of-touch, concerned mother. Her depiction of Helen, a working mom with an absent husband, offered some legitimacy to Griffin’s know-it-all attitude.
For his directorial debut, Nicholas Colia’s work was impressive, just not remarkable. The coming-of-age storyline just lacked much more substance, as stated earlier. Given the categorization as a comedy, the writing was not up to par. A promising first stab at writing and directing for Colia, but this film doesn’t really land the jokes.
Aspects of Griffin’s upbringing that should have been crucial clues to his conduct lacked presence. The viewer is never provided an understanding of his father’s absence beyond cheating, which also leads to confusion as to why he insists on referring to his mother by her first name. Again, Griffin — who we can assume is preparing to enter high school — thinks he is an adult, but the reasoning is unclear.
This demented concept of maturity is especially uncomfortable when Griffin becomes infatuated with the pool boy, Brad (Owen Teague), who is 11 years his senior. Perhaps my biggest gripe with the movie, Brad never did anything to allude to being interested, let alone leading Griffin on. As a matter of fact, Brad never indicated being gay, leaving the viewer struggling to empathize with Griffin’s broken heart or defend his erratic New York City trip.
One conniving connection I appreciated with Griffin taking a page from his father’s book as he breaks up Brad and his girlfriend, Chloe, played by Kathryn Newton, who you may recognize from Lisa Frankenstein. Seeing how his father’s decisions tore apart his family and destroyed his mother makes it hard to grasp how Griffin could be so selfish as to hurt Brad and Chloe in a similar way. Such behavior presents Griffin not as a complicated protagonist, but more of an antihero teetering on the brink of a villain.
The conclusion though was wholesome and satisfying. Amends were made, and each friend came together to put on Griffin’s play, Regrets of Autumn. We even got a glimpse into an age-appropriate romance sparking for Griffin.
Griffin in Summer lacks originality, leaving a promising plot feeling lackluster. Such a coming-of-age plot or yearning for an older man are familiar tropes. For 90 minutes, the film fails to truly find its footing, falling into just another cliché. Albeit not being a hard watch, Griffin in Summer isn’t one that I’d personally recommend to a friend. I welcome this review to be challenged though when it hits theaters on August 29th.
2/5 Stars.
This film was far from being unwatchable and had some entertaining bits, but overall failed to take off. Predictable writing was the largest drawback, but the actors’ impressive performances certainly helped salvage parts of the plot.
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