Summer With the Guys Movie Review (Spoiler Free)
What happens when The Full Monty meets Magic Mike & Animal House? The answer is Terrence Green’s indie comedy.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Terrence Green
Cast: Terrence Green, Brashaad Mayweather, Brannon Watson, James Hal Hardy, Lina Outler, Dean Wil, Roxanne Kalie, Terry Woodberry, & Jay D. Henderson.
Run Time: 88 min.
US Release: 22 March 2023 (tubi / Google Play / Amazon / YouTube)
UK Release: 22 March 2023 (Googe Plax / YouTube)
German Release: N/A
Being a huge cinephile who grew up with low-budget, slap-stick comedies of the Italian performers Bud Spencer and Terrence Hill, I like to take a break from big studio productions, to look at some smaller-budgeted, independent films. When the good folks behind Summer With the Guys contacted me, asking if I would like to review the movie, I immediately said yes! Having finally found some time, between work and some personal stuff that needed to be done, I am very excited to talk about this old-school style indie comedy!
When four college football players lose their scholarships, the pressure to make the tuition money during their summer break leads them to work for Ms. Cash as male stripers
Before I get going, let me explain that I review every movie for what they are; big Hollywood action blockbusters will be compared with similar high-dollar blockbusters. Since this is a very low-budgeted production, so I will be reviewing it as such! So let's go…
The screenplay, written by Brashaad Mayweather, Marquese ‘Kese’ Deese, as well as Heisi Weitzer, serves audiences with a simple narrative to follow. The plot conflict is an easy one to solve, though the characters are such meatheads, they end up in a hilariously bizarre complicated situation, to solve a simple issue. The outcome is even more outlandish and earned some well-deserved laughs. Does it feel similar to other pictures? Yes, it does have similar threads to Magic Mike, just like the British comedy The Full Monty.
The humour feels like a merger of 80s, 90s plus early 00s raunchy comedy, but made for the social media generation. While silly, it never falls into absolute goofy traps. It is quite an accomplishment for a directorial debut, as comedy is one of the harder genres to direct. Does it have some logical flaws, sure some plot points do not work, nonetheless, it is a perfectly enjoyable story that made me laugh more often than I expected.
The dialogues are a little over-the-top, trying to underline the simplicity of jock mentality, but do at no time feel unrealistic for a comedy. The line deliveries from a few of the supporting characters do sound wooden.
The best part of this low-budget production is the chemistry between the four leads. It sells the camaraderie between the guys, who are supposed to be college football teammates.
Terrence Green, who apart from directing, also plays DC - one of the main characters, is the lead of this group of friends. He comes up with several plans, but all seem to fall apart. Green has great charisma, making DC an easy-to-like character, even though his decision gets the friends in trouble.
Brannon Watson, who portrays the hulking Jay, reminded me of The Rock’s Paul Doyle in Pain & Gain. He is the innocent, fun teddy bear of the group. Brashaad Mayweather, who co-wrote the script, is just as likeable as Green. His character Bmore seemed to be the more responsible of the four.
Finally, James Hal Hardy as Dan, is the true comedic anchor of the four. Dan is a pseudo-spiritualist, with slight rage issues. He looks like a knockoff of Bodhi, from Point Break.
I want to give a special mention to Terry Woodberry, who was cast as Coach. His contained, over-the-top performance is hilarious!
The cinematography is hit-and-miss, which included some questionable decisions, such as weird, extreme close-ups, strange angles, plus warped lens effects. The picture has undoubtedly the feel of an independent production. While there are some creative edited dancing sequences, most of the editing is inconsistently jumpy.
The sound mixing is among the worst aspects of the feature. It included a lot of background white noise, erratic changes in volume, as well as sudden drops that lasted seconds. Something the team should learn from for their next production.
Verdict: Comedy along with horror, are the two most difficult genres to produce. Thus it is even more impressive that Terrence Green managed to direct a decent, very low-budget, independent comedy flick, as his feature debut. The screenplay, written amongst others by co-actor Brashaad Mayweather, avoids falling into goofy traps. The humour combines the raunchiness of American Pie, Animal House and How High, paired with a plot reminiscent of The Full Monty mixed with Magic Mike. Green, who plays one of the lead characters, has solid chemistry with Mayweather, Watson and Hardy. The four guys enjoyed playing their roles, reflecting in solid performances. Lina Outler’s line delivery can be a little wooden. Technically, the low-budget production is noticeable! The cinematography includes rookie mistakes plus the editing is off at times. The sound mix is also heavily inconsistent, dropping in places for a couple of seconds. That said, if you don’t mind an old-school-type, low-budget, indie comedy, you are going to have a good time with this one! I’ll give it a 6.0 out of 10.
Are you planning on watching Summer with the Guys? Let me know what you thought! As always, thank you for reading & if you like the content, subscribe!