Themes: Unlikely Friendships, Fathers and Sons, Innocence Lost
Main Cast: Aidan Quinn, Bonnie Hunt, Kevin Pollak, Adi Stein
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 91 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Pete (Adi Stein) is an eight-year-old Catholic boy growing up in the suburbs of Chicago in the mid-'70s. Pete attends Catholic school, where as classes let out for the summer, he's admonished by a nun to follow the path of Lord, and not that of the Devil. Perhaps taking this message a bit too seriously, Pete decides it's his goal for the summer to help someone get into heaven; having been told that Catholicism is the only sure path to the kingdom of the Lord, Pete decides to convert a Jew to Catholicism in order to improve their standing in the afterlife. Hoping to find a likely candidate, Pete begins visiting a nearby synagogue, where he gets to know Rabbi Jacobson (Kevin Pollack), who responds to Pete's barrage of questions with good humor. Pete also makes friends with the Rabbi's son, Danny (Michael Weinberg), who is about the same age; when he learns that Danny is seriously ill, he decides Danny would be an excellent choice for conversion. When the priest at Pete's church (Brian Dennehy) informs Pete that all will be tested before they pass the Pearly Gates, he sets up a mini-decathlon and puts Danny in training as he attempts to reshape his spiritual thinking. Pete's parents (Bonnie Hunt and Aidan Quinn) aren't sure just what to make of Pete's new summer project, and as they become aquatinted with Rabbi Jacobson, they share their perspectives on the unexpected trials of parenting. Stolen Summer received more than its share of pre-release publicity; writer/director Pete Jones' script was the winner in a nationwide screenwriting competition sponsored by producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, with Miramax Pictures pledging a one-million-dollar budget and a theatrical release to the winning story. As part of the deal, the production of Stolen Summer was documented by a film crew from the premium cable network HBO, who aired a documentary miniseries about the making of the film, Project Greenlight. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Viewers in search of rookie gaffes will be disappointed by Stolen Summer, the even-keeled outcome of Miramax's experiment in cinematic wish granting, which formed the basis of the HBO reality show Project Greenlight. Unfortunately, most others will be disappointed by it, too. Neophyte director Pete Jones can finally take the chip off his shoulder; his contest-winning script and hours of high-profile humiliation have actually culminated in a watchable film. But Jones' tidy efficiency is both a strength and a drawback. On the one hand, it proves him able, but on the other, it gives the world a pretty dull and diluted tale of religious soul-searching in the suburbs. Though it's impossible to judge their performances in a vacuum, understanding that they fell somewhere between volunteers and guinea pigs, the guest actors (Aidan Quinn, Kevin Pollack, Bonnie Hunt) seem imperceptibly bored and embarrassed by their involvement. The subject matter itself is hardly vanilla; in fact, the idea of a young Catholic on a mission to convert Jews might be downright inflammatory. But in the carefully modulated hands of producers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Jones' story is decidedly toothless. Instead of brazenly challenging norms, they settle for a slice-of-life indie feature with the humdrum rhythms of an after-school special. One almost wishes Stolen Summer had ended up outrageously flawed -- then at least it might have found life as a cult curiosity, instead of an irrelevant and largely unseen footnote. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Alex Keledjian - Associate Producer, Jeff Balis - Co-producer, Stacy Ellen Rich - Costume Designer, Bruce Terris - First Assistant Director, Pete Jones - Director, Gregg Featherman - Editor, Ben Affleck - Executive Producer, Matt Damon - Executive Producer, Patrick Peach - Executive Producer, Chris Moore - Executive Producer, Michelle Sy - Executive Producer, Danny Lux - Composer (Music Score), Devorah Herbert - Production Designer, Pete Biagi - Cinematographer, Matt Damon - Producer, Chris Moore - Producer, Martha Ring - Set Designer, F. Alexander Riordan - Sound/Sound Designer, Pete Jones - Screenwriter
