Summer of the Monkeys
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List Price: $9.99
Features
• Closed-captioned
• Color
• NTSC
In Theaters : 30 October, 1998
Video Release : 22 December, 1998 |
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Summer of the Monkeys Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
Good Family Movie, but No Monkeys
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I liked this movie. The movie is full of fun and lots of little lessons for young and old alike. I only have one small complaint. There are no monkeys in this movie. Monkeys usually have long tails and the word excludes apes, including chimpanzees. My complaint comes because too many people already think of gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees as monkeys, and children should learn better.
Jay Berry Lee (Cory Savier) is a young boy on the Great Plains just past the turn of the century. Jay Berry has his heart set on a beautiful mare. However, money is tight and Jay Berry quickly realizes that working Grandpa Sam Ferrans's (Wilford Brimley) store will not earn him money as fast as he would like. Help comes in the form of a troop of chimpanzees.
A circus train derailed near town, and now their owner is searching for them. Jay Berry accidentally finds the chimps in the "bottoms," where he is not supposed to go. The bottoms are adjacent to a river, and the land is marshy and treacherous, and scary-looking moon shiner Bayliss Hatcher (Don Francks, a veteran of dozens of television and movie appearances) makes his home there.
The movie alternates between the life that his parents, John Lee (Michael Ontkean, a veteran actor that has worked with Disney before) and Sara Lee (Leslie Hope, another veteran actor) think Jay Berry should prepare for, and the fantasies that Jay Berry seems to have. Thrown into this mix is that Jay Berry's sister, Daisy Lee (Katie Stuart), is handicapped and relies on Jay Berry a lot. Perhaps is would be more accurate to say that Jay Berry's parents rely on Jay Berry to watch over his younger sister.
Through the movie, we watch as Jay Berry fights with himself over the meaning of right and wrong. We watch Jay Berry get into situations that always seem to happen to us when we are young. While we would like to save Jay Berry, we also know that Jay Berry must conquer these situations on his own in order to grow up.
This movie does fall into the category of a "coming of age" movie. However, the use of the chimpanzees as a tool to aid in that growing up and the era in which the movie make this movie an enjoyable experience. I have watched this movie twice now. The second time I watched it I appreciated it better than the first time, which I usually find to be a good sign.
This movie was based on a book with the same title by Wilson Rawls. However, I have not read the book. Other reviewers have noted that the movie follows the book poorly, and have criticized the movie for its divergence. If you have read the book and you think you might be disappointed if the movie departs significantly from the book, you may wish to pass this movie by. If have not read the book and you like coming of age stories or family movies in general, then this movie will likely appeal to you.
This movie has some stylistic similarities to the Wilderness Family movies of the mid to late 70s, and if you liked those movies you would probably like this movie.
I think this movie is an excellent choice for a family film collection. There are a few tense moments, but those moments are short and this movie should be fine for even the youngest members of the family. Enjoy!
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