Director: David Berry
Running Time: 115 mins
Certificate: NR (US)
Release Date: July 15th 2017 (Outfest Screening)
I’m still surprised there aren’t more gay-themed musicals, but we’ve got a new one with Something Like Summer. It’s not a typical musical, as rather than taking place in a hyper-real world, it tells a story of love and loss that occasionally jumps from the real world to a stage, where the main character breaks into song. It’s an unusual way of doing it, and the first couple of times it’s a little jarring, both because its slightly unexpected and because the musical sequences are quite spaced apart.
However, they’re catchy songs, sung well and after you get used to it, they add real charm to the movie.
Something Like Summer, based on Jay Bell’s popular novel, follows Ben (Grant Davis) over the course of 12 years. It starts when he’s an out gay high school student with a crush on popular jock Tim (Davi Santos). After they literally bump into one another, they start a fledgling relationship. However, Tim is still unsure of his sexuality and wants to stay in the closet, as he’s afraid of what will happen if anyone finds out. [Read more…]