The Last Summer – An Adventure of Friendship and New Romance

With the uptick in streaming service originals, the pressure is now on to produce new material. One of these outlets is Netflix, and while some of their programming I won’t go near, there is plenty I do enjoy. Their angsty multi-perspective teenage romantic-comedy The Last Summer is one of these titles.

The Last Summer (2019) Netflix Review

School is out, and for Erin (Halston Sage) a clean break is what she needs. This is why she and her long-term boyfriend Alec (Jacob Lattimore) call it quits at the beginning of the summer. You see, they’re both off to college in different states and there’s no need to delay the inevitable; long distance just doesn’t work. After Erin sees Alec moves on, she serendipitously meets Ricky (Tyler Posey), a young Texas-to-Chicago transplant who now plays for the Cubs. With encouragement from her best friend, Audrey (Sosie Bacon), Erin goes out on a date, and discovers new dreams. All while Audrey nannies for a woman who doesn’t understand her daughter.

Elsewhere Griffin (KJ Apa) returns home for the summer from his elite boarding school. While home, he’s able to again see his crush Phoebe (Maia Mitchell) but discovers a secret that not only affects his family, but the new relationship he’s building.

I didn’t know much about this film until I clicked “play” one weekend night in (as I’m prone to be). What I discovered is a cute comedy that asks an audience to invest in its characters over its production quality. The film is a bit rough in its early execution. The transitions between characters and stories feels rough and therefore it jars us in and out of the moment. That said, the film isn’t something that aspires to be solid award winning film work and is instead a fun little summertime comedy that does just what it should: make us smile.

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Though I liked all of the characters save for maybe one, this script plays in some dangerous territory; the biggest one being an age gap that’s iffy, and the winking implication at the end of the film. Still, beyond this I do think the movie is entertaining. I really like Griffin and Phoebe’s story, which has the most emotional complexity, but I also find Erin and Alex interesting characters. I feel bad that there isn’t more resolution to their respective stories, but then again, I guess we can decide how it goes down.

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The cast is solid and creates characters that I care about. I like that Halston’s is more than the stereotype; Sosie’s learns what it is she wants; Jacob plays a really nice guy who’s impossible not to like; K.J. and Maia’s story is the most romantic, so of course, theirs has all the feels; and Tyler also isn’t the stereotype, and I appreciate that. Perhaps this is what I like best about the film. The fact that the while there are cliché quirks about the characters, they aren’t cliché. No one is the “mean” character or the annoying one, and instead I found myself wanting the best for this group of high school graduates, and their next phase.

If you don’t mind something that’s fun without the depth of a drama, The Last Summer is 100% a recommendation I’d make.

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Content: this is definitely a film for an older audience. There’s nothing graphic, but plenty of sexual innuendo and a heavy make out scene, plus a crude story about a boy and his date. There may be some minor profanity. The film is TV-14.

Photos: Netflix