Staten Island Summer (2015)

I'll tell you why so serious

As Good As It Gets

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Very dumb story,cast was good but bad script,not good enough comedy for comedy genre movie.

Well there is not much to write about Staten Island Summer. Thirty years ago I might have liked it but now I'm not a teenager anymore, not even close, so this movie is just not for me. It's not the worst thing I ever saw, it's just an average movie about kids wanting to get late for the first time and trying to throw a party to get some actions there. We've seen it all before, and even better. For teenagers this might be a good movie, because they might recognize themselves in it, but for me it doesn't do much. I thought it would be a comedy but honestly if I said I laughed twice during the entire movie I would be lying. Well, like I already said, it's not the worst thing I ever saw, but I certainly won't watch it again.

To paraphrase another reviewer and a line from the movie's opening narration, it's as if Caddyshack and Superbad had a love child. A very funny love child...As you watch this movie, it's easy to pick out influences from other flicks. Jonah Hill type? Check. Michael Cera type? Check, but let's go with black hair so it's not obvious. And so it goes, even including a mumbling grounds-keeper a la Caddyshack. Mind you, these are not necessarily bad things. Considering I laughed myself silly quite a few times, I won't complain. This movie was a refreshing change from the standard fare of late. It's just a silly comedy with barely enough plot to move from scene to scene. It's not a dreary underdog saga set in a dystopian future. It's not another overwrought superhero movie with a 45 minute CGI battle scene to fill up the running time once the creators ran out of ideas. And most thankfully, it's not an angst-filled critique of relationships. It's just a funny story. I wish there were more movies like this one. The many supporting characters were great fun. Kate Walsh and Jim Gaffigan played their parent roles to deadpan perfection. The kid from Bad Grandpa played a great straight man (straight kid?) to the totally inappropriate influences of Fred Armisen. Don't expect too much, but do sit back and enjoy a few belly laughs. And be thankful not everybody in Hollywood has given up on making light-hearted comedies.

First of all, if you go into this movie expecting it to be an episode of Jersey Shore, you will be disappointed. Even though Staten Island has a reputation of meat heads fist pumping everywhere, it's not an accurate representation of Staten Island. I applaud the creators of this movie who finally show Staten Island in the correct light. The stereotypes of this NYC borough do exist in this movie but are in the outer fringes of the storyline, just as they are in the actual Staten Island.That being said, the movie is enjoyable, but really not a memorable coming of age comedy. The story provides noting really new, and actually aside from Gina Gershon and Vincent Pastores' stereotypical Italian suburban characters. This story could have taken place in any middle class neighborhood across the United states.Again, the creators should be applauded for showing Staten Island in its true form. If you like coming of age stories, there's enough here to make it enjoyable. It's not overly funny or dramatic and the script isn't strong, but you will probably watch it and move on with your life. If you saw "the way way back" you will notice huge contrasts between a strong showing as that one is and a mediocre entry like this one.