Ping Pong Summer
Film poster
Directed byMichael Tully
Written byMichael Tully
Produced byJeffrey Allard
Brooke Bernard
Michael Gottwald
Lori Krein
Billy Peterson
George Rush
Ryan Zacarias
StarringMarcello Conte
Myles Massey
Emmi Shockley
Joe McCaughtry
Andy Riddle
Helena Seabrook
Maddie Howard
Lea Thompson
John Hannah
Judah Friedlander
Amy Sedaris
Susan Sarandon
CinematographyWyatt Garfield
Edited byMarc Vives
Music byMichael Montes
Production
companies
Compass Entertainment
Epic Match Media
Indie Entertainment
Nomadic Independence Pictures
Distributed byGravitas Ventures
Millennium Entertainment
Release dates
  • January 18, 2014 (2014-01-18) (Sundance)
  • June 6, 2014 (2014-06-06) (United States)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.5 million
Box office$52,909[1]

Ping Pong Summer is a 2014 American independent coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Michael Tully.[2][3] The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014.[4][5]

Gravitas Ventures acquired the distribution rights of the film; they released the film theatrically and by video on demand on June 6, 2014. Millennium Entertainment handled the home release of the film.[6][7][8]

Plot summary

Set in the summer of 1985, Ping Pong Summer follows the coming of age of 13-year-old Radical "Rad" Miracle, a socially-awkward American boy and fan of beatboxing and ping pong, who lives with his parents and older sister, Michelle (a girl who dresses like singer Madonna and has a sardonic personality). The family books a cottage for a lengthy summer vacation in Ocean City, Maryland, but Rad feels alone and out-of-place there, bothered by the wacky happenings upon arrival (the family finds a fully naked old man sitting in the kitchen sink, for instance, after which Rad's father bleaches out the sink). Rad also gets accosted by two local rich bullies, preppy jock Lyle Ace and his chubby, eccentric lackey Dale. Lyle and Dale pull their car over while playing the song "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister on the radio, proceeding to knock Rad over and destroy his groceries, but a middle-aged woman appears out of her own property and waves a dead fish in the bullies' faces, confusing them and creeping them out until they run away.

Rad finds it difficult to make friends, retreating into his fantasies about being a musical artist (while attempting beatboxing in the bathroom, his mother overhears the weird noises and thinks that Rad is masturbating, much to her horror). Rad is able to attract the attention of local popular girl Stacy Summers (a rumoured cocaine addict), and he does make a new friend upon meeting Teddy Fryy, another vacationer staying in Ocean City with his father. Angered by the bullies, Rad hurts Teddy's feelings by making a racist remark at him (claiming he has bad Brillo Pad hair), but the two boys make up after Rad apologizes to Teddy by purchasing him a bottle of curly hair activation cream. They attend a dance at a local youth centre, where Rad discovers that Stacy is in fact not a cocaine addict, but instead eats too many Pixy Stix and is giving herself a sugar high). Stacy attempts to flirt sexually with Teddy; Teddy becomes uncomfortable and flees, after which Stacy accuses him of being a prude.

Rad hopes to boost his self-esteem by winning a ping pong tournament against Lyle and Dale. He meets up with the woman who saved him from the bullies earlier in the film, learning that she herself is a ping pong champion and that she is somewhat reclusive; Rad and Teddy befriend her, discovering that her name is Randy, and Randy teaches them her own techniques for winning ping pong games. Meanwhile Rad visits his artsy liberal relatives at the beach, who've made unintentionally phallic shapes out of seashell sculptures, and Michelle begins questioning her direction in life and her physical appearance. She gains newfound respect for her brother when Rad defends himself for the first time against Lyle and Dale. With Teddy and Randy's help, Rad is able to win the ping pong tournament while his family cheers him on. He shares a romantic moment with Stacy after Lyle and Dale cry in defeat, and Randy congratulates him. Having found a mentor in ping pong, Rad finally develops his confidence as a teenager.

Production

Development

Director Michael Tully has said that the movie was inspired by growing up with 1980s Hollywood films, ping pong and sunny summer times in Ocean City, Maryland. With Ping Pong Summer he also wanted to pay tribute to those comedy filmmakers from the 1980s that took their time to craft heart-felt stories. Tully focused on breaking the "connect-the-dot" contemporary comedy by infusing personal experience and genuine characters.[9][10] Tully grew up in Maryland, and he and his family vacationed at the resort where he shot the movie when he was an adolescent.[11]

George Rush and Tully collaborated on the sale of Tully's last film, Septien. Rush had worked primarily as an entertainment lawyer, but took on the role of producer for Ping Pong Summer. Tully had been polishing the script since 1992 and was eager to make a movie so reminiscent of his childhood. The duo had a clear vision for the look and feel of the movie. They wanted to make a movie that truly captured the 1980s culture and felt like it was an old reel someone had found in a vault. Wyatt Garfield was instrumental in designing a specific look in the cinematography. Also, by casting generational icons like Susan Sarandon and Lea Thompson, they were able to pay homage to time periods that parents in the audience would be familiar with.[12]

In the opening shots of the film, viewers see a boom box, Nike shoes, and a Run-D.M.C. tape, which, as NPR wrote, are "cultural markers that would clearly peg the film to a particular decade even without a subtitle further specifying the year: 1985."[13]

Pre-production

The production opened up in Ocean City, Maryland. According to Tully the town was excellent at preserving the nostalgic feel of summer vacations. The local authorities and citizens were very cooperative with the filmmakers. To further capture the style of the movie, the entire picture was shot on Super 16 film stock. Tully felt very passionate about this choice and it was approved by Rush and the other producers.[9][12]

The film was shot in Ocean City, Maryland, marking the first time since 1986 (Violets Are Blue) that a movie was filmed there.[14]

Cast

Main cast and characters for Ping Pong Summer
Actor Susan Sarandon John Hannah Lea Thompson Amy Sedaris Judah Friedlander Robert Longstreet Marcello Conte Maddie Howard
Image
Character "Randi Jammer" "Mr. Miracle" "Mrs. Miracle" "Aunt Peggy" "Anthony" "Uncle Jim" "Rad Miracle" "Rhonda"

Awards

Ping Pong Summer played at the 2014 Sarasota Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Film.[12][15]

Reception

Ping Pong Summer received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 55% of 29 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.7 out of 10.[16]

Justin Lowe in his review for The Hollywood Reporter praised the film, saying that "Rose-tinted as the film's perspective may be, Ping Pong Summer is still a lingering, entertaining glance back at an era that Americans just can't seem to get enough of, whether in music or movies."[17] Mark Adams of Screen International wrote that "Ping Pong Summer may well feel rather familiar, but there is a lot of good-natured and very accessible fun to be had about its tale of one 13-year-old's dream of glory on the table tennis table."[18] Chris Michael, in his review for The Guardian, said "It's gawky and awkward, but just like Rad's breakdancing worm, this one gets better as it goes along."[19]

NPR was less positive, with reviewer Tomas Hachard calling the film "a sometimes intriguing experiment in upended expectations, though not a particularly successful one," that was largely lacking "coherent purpose".[20] Calum Marsh of Film.com criticized Ping Pong Summer as "a cool ninety minutes of vapid 80s fetishism packaged to resemble a proper feature film" that was "resoundingly pointless".[21] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times focused criticism on the "limp hero" and "lifeless plot", arguing that the positive qualities of the film did not "excuse characters that are little more than props for embarrassing fashion or delivery systems for dated slang."[22] Ann Hornaday at The Washington Post argued that "its relatively uninvolving story, starchily directed by Tully and given little zing by an uneven cast, makes 'Ping Pong Summer'" an "okay-not-great" film.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Ping Pong Summer (2014) - Box Office Mojo".
  2. ^ Nemiroff, Perri (March 8, 2014). "SXSW 2014: PING PONG SUMMER Review". Collider.com. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  3. ^ Campbell, Chris (April 23, 2014). "See the Trailer for the Ocean City-Set "Ping Pong Summer"". After Hours. The Washingtonian. Washington Magazine, Inc. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  4. ^ "Sundance 2014: The Next <=> Lineup". Indiewire. New York, NY: SnagFilms, Inc. January 10, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  5. ^ Kaltenbach, Chris (December 6, 2013). "Md.-made 'Ping Pong Summer' to debut at Sundance". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  6. ^ Sneider, Jeff (February 3, 2014). "Susan Sarandon Comedy 'Ping Pong Summer' Acquired by Gravitas Ventures". The Wrap. Los Angeles, CA: The Wrap News, Inc. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  7. ^ "Gravitas Ventures Acquires Sundance Pic 'Ping Pong Summer'". Deadline.com. Los Angeles, CA: PMC. February 3, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  8. ^ Jagernauth, Kevin (April 22, 2014). "Watch: New Trailer For Sundance Comedy 'Ping Pong Summer' With Susan Sarandon, Amy Sedaris & More". Indiewire. Los Angeles, CA: SnagFilms, Inc. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  9. ^ a b "Five Questions with Ping Pong Summer Director Michael Tully". Filmmaker Magazine. January 18, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  10. ^ "Michael Tully: Director of PING PONG SUMMER ". The Insider. March 13, 2014. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  11. ^ Anderson, Soren (June 5, 2014). "'Ping Pong Summer': coming-of-age tale serves up life lessons". Entertainment. The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  12. ^ a b c Grady, Pam (April 23, 2014). "'Ping Pong Summer' Producer George Rush Partial to Indies". SFGate. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  13. ^ Hachard, Tomas (June 5, 2014). "Seeing The 1980s Twice Over, But Done Better With Dance". NPR (National Public Radio). Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  14. ^ Chaney, Jen (June 5, 2014). "'Ping Pong Summer' showcases an Ocean City that hasn't changed much since 1985". Style. The Washington Post. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  15. ^ "SFF 2014: Wrap Report". Sarasota Film Festival. Sarasota, FL. April 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  16. ^ "Ping Pong Summer". Rotten Tomatoes. San Francisco, CA: Flixster, Inc. 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  17. ^ "Ping Pong Summer: Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  18. ^ Adams, Mark (January 26, 2014). "Ping Pong Summer". Screendaily.com. London, U.K.: Media Business Insight Limited. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  19. ^ Michael, Chris (January 31, 2014). "Ping Pong Summer: Rotterdam film festival – review". Culture/Film. The Guardian. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  20. ^ Hachard, Tomas (June 5, 2014). "Seeing The 1980s Twice Over, But Done Better With Dance". NPR (National Public Radio). Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  21. ^ "Rotterdam Review: 'Ping Pong Summer'". January 8, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  22. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (June 5, 2014). "It's 1985 All Over Again: 'Ping Pong Summer,' Michael Tully's Nostalgic Comedy". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  23. ^ "'Ping Pong Summer' movie review". www.washingtonpost.com. June 5, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.

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