Good concept, poorly executed.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

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

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I saw it when it was first broadcast--and some of it again when rerun a year or two later. It made me very squidgy. The principals and producers weren't really comfortable with the material and it showed. The only thread of the story that was credible was Hope Lange's distress at having her son (or adopted son?) suddenly find out about his father's (or adoptive father's?) live-in boyfriend. Scott Jacoby was horrendously miscast. The only way Hope Lange and Hal Holbrook could have had this ugly, obnoxious kid was to have taken in the child of some (unrelated) friends. Perhaps the other couple got killed in an auto accident--who knows? Anyway, it would make sense for Hal and Hope not to have had any kids of their own, so this created a whole new backstory that was not explicitly dealt with in the script. Here they were stuck with this pushy brat, and bending over backwards to be nice to him and smooth over his ruffled feelings, and they always got bupkis for their trouble. The pivotal scene was Martin Sheen bringing out the birthday cake ('but it's noawt moy boitday!' kvetches the brat) and then Sheen has to swallow endless abuse and innuendo from the little creep, who (let's face it) knew the score from the moment he saw his 'father' living in the same house with this other guy. This is another example of disjuncture between the actual script and the story as portrayed: the Scott Jacoby character is an up-to-date, crudely aware little wiseguy, but the director and adult actors are going around pretending he's this delicate flower who's had a sheltered life. I imagine that the kid was a past-master at subtle psychological blackmail. This new 'revelation' just gives him more ammunition. His poor adoptive parents! And the moral is: Don't adopt a kid who's obviously not yours. You'll get no thanks!

Well-made TV-movie, largely acknowledged as the first made-for-television film to tackle the subject of homosexuality, has divorced San Francisco contractor Hal Holbrook looking forward to a visit from his fourteen-year-old son who lives out in Los Angeles with his mother; things are shaky when the kid meets his dad's new male friend, and once he figures out that Pop enjoys this male companion more so than eligible women, he runs away in anger and confusion. Levinson/Link production won raves upon its first network showing, and indeed it is smart, focused, and without stereotypes. Still, when the kid runs away (for a large section of the film), precious time on the clock is wasted as the adults search for him and worry. The film isn't melodramatic, thankfully; it's brave, it has a thoughtful, melancholy undermining, and the gay theme is served well (only some of the dialogue dates it). But more courageous the whole thing might have been with more hearty talk and less shame and tears.

That Certain Summer is way ahead of it's time for the year 1972.I did not see the movie when it originally aired in 1972. I had not even heard of the movie until I received this movie on VHS tape from a collector.I watched it a couple of nights ago, and I was amazed at the subject matter for the year 1972.First off, the cast was excellent. Hal Holbrook, Hope Lange, Martin Sheen, and Scott Jacoby were just right for their roles.The scenery and setting of San Francisco added to the film's atmosphere.What I like best about the movie is the way that the story ended. The ending did not produce any certain answers for the family involved.The viewer can decide whether the family will make it through the heartache and hurt that all of them are experiencing.This movie was very well done,and is very tender and touching.I recommend this movie very much.I have this movie.

"That Certain Summer" was more than just one of 1972's best productions made expressly for television. It was an outstanding presentation by any standard and for any medium. The entire cast, crew, and production team worked in fine ensemble fashion to create a memorable and significant achievement. This deserves to be revived and widely offered on video.