Overrated

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Told in flashback, "Summer of '42" is a nostalgic return to teen-age summers, ripe with possibilities, and the years of sexual awakening. Set during World War II, it is also a bittersweet reminder of a dramatic era in America's past.Gary Grimes plays the young Hermie, awkward and confused as he grapples with the mysteries of adolescence and sexuality. Jenifer O'Neill plays Dorothy, a beautiful newlywed who appears enchanting and full of life to the admiring teen.Like "Stand by Me", the film is very successful at recalling a more innocent time. But the reality of war lies just beyond the idyllic coastal setting. The haunting musical theme from "Summer of '42" is as iconic and integral to the story as the theme from "Love Story". It conveys a romanticism that is mirrored by the warmth of Dorothy as she offers an instructive friendship to Hermie.

...because - outside of the music - the 70s is a decade most of us in America would just as soon forget. There was inflation, an unpopular war, a disgraced president, gas lines, and shag carpet. The thing is, most of the things I just mentioned hadn't even happened yet, but by 1971 there was a feeling that our best days were over and we were in a downhill slide as a country. So it would be natural to look backwards at the 30's - there were lots of A list 70s films set during the Great Depression - and also at the 1940s. Summer of 42 is set at a time when the U.S. didn't know how WWII was all going to turn out, but in 1971 we knew it was our finest hour, and there was a desire to revisit that time.Summer of '42 is a very well-done and entertaining movie. It certainly presents what I would guess is a pretty accurate view of the time and place and what adolescents were like at the time. That for me is its greatest merit. I wouldn't call it a great movie, but it's certainly a good one. I always feel a little sorry for any kid whose nickname is Hermie. Yikes. At first glance "Summer of 42" is merely another coming of age film wherein a teenager falls in love with an "older" woman and lives the summer dream of every adolescent boy, but first glances can be wrong. Gary Grimes delivers a strong performance, but the gem in this movie is Jennifer O'Neil. This stunningly beautiful woman delivers a remarkably haunting performance as the "suddenly" widowed young bride who dream walks into one night of sexual searching with a local teen. Her performance is so sensual yet innocent of any feelings of guilt, her one night is a gentle embrace of life, not sexual release or wantonness, a perfect performance from a actress we got to see far to little of.

Hermie (Gary Grimes) recalls the summer of 42 on Nantucket Island when he was 15 with his family on summer holidays. His best friends are Oscy and Benjie. The boys are sex obsessed and Dorothy (Jennifer O'Neill) is Hermie's biggest obsession. New bride Dorothy sends her husband off to war leaving her alone in the beach house. He helps her carry the grocery home. Oscy picks up three girls at the movies. Oscy chooses the pretty blonde Miriam and leaves Hermie with the mousy Aggie. Benjie runs off and Gloria also leaves.I think every guy has had an Oscy in his life during that age or maybe was the Oscy of the group himself. Oscy gives a nostalgic realism feel to this memory laden movie. Dorothy is a fantasy that is understandable by all men past the teenage years. The young guys fit their roles very well. Jennifer O'Neill is pretty. I wouldn't say anybody acted exceptionally well but they all do their parts. This has the condom buying scene plus other coming-of-age standards. There is a really slow climatic scene which feels odd for the subject matter in the modern sense.

Life was simpler. Love was stronger. And each day was a new adventure. I have the DVD and watch this movie at least once every 2 or 3 years. It never gets old, I always see new things or hear new dialog. No great message or political statement, just makes you feel good to be back in the day. The acting was great because you get so involved with the characters you lose the fact of who they really are. The situations are very real for those of us that lived during that period or even into the 50s and 60s. The dialog may seem a little corny, but that is the way we were when I grew up, clumsy and not very cool. The use of the wind throughout the movie gave it the beach feel that I used to get when I went to the beach on the Gulf coast, so the movie takes you away to a past that could have been.