Dog Days of Summer

Dog Days of Summer - a Diamond in the Rough
The movie Dog Days of Summer is a diamond in the rough.

I bought this movie because I'm a fan of Will Patton's work. While he's been in some really bad movies, he's rarely given a bad performance. So, after reading several good reviews, I decided to buy this DVD. It's a good movie that could have been better.

The main problem is the script. The writing is very uneven, the plot confusing and the character development weak. Which is a shame, because the acting by Devon Gearhart and Colin Ford, as the two young friends Phil and Jackson, is very good.

The script is confusing because I don't think the writers knew what they wanted the story to be. Another reviewer mentioned how similar this movie is to an episode of the Twilight Zone called A Stop at Willoughby. In it, a business man laments his life in the modern world and longs for something simpler.

Is the movie trying to be a coming of age story ? Is it supposed to be a Christian allegory...

good but uneven first directorial effort
I became aware of this little known film as a result of seeing
and purchasing "Canvas", a 2006 film starring Joe Pantoliano and
Marcia Gay Harden, and a then 11 year old boy, Devon Gearhart. The
film dealt with a family coming to terms with the mother's mental
illness, as seen through the eyes of the son. I was so impressed
with Devon's performance, I went on IMDB and discovered his next
movie was "Dog Days of Summmer". It wasn't available until 2009
but I purchased it then, and while it isn't as good as "Canvas",
it is worth seeing. It ultimately has a religious theme,
but that is not the essence of the movie. It is about a strange
man (Wil Patton) who comes to town one summer (Filmed in Edenton
North Carolina), and changes the lives of the people and the
town. It is told in flashback style, with narration by the
adult who in the flashbacks is played by Devon Gearhart. The
film is done in a whimsical style,...

a weird, cryptic tale
The video was delivered quickly and in very nice condition. The movie itself had some weird elements to it. The title misleads you into thinking it's a pleasant summer movie, but there is more to it than that.

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