On the surface, it looks like a cheesy dramatic move-and you know what? sometimes there are parts to it that are. but the majority of the movie is raw and real about emotions and the actors portray their characters so well so there's nothing wrong with their acting. this is a wonderful coming of age movie that i won't forget.

Very entertaining. Good plot and acting. Definitely worth watching.

You go to the movies to have a little bit of a break from the real world. But in this endlessly depressing piece, I felt if I had actually hung out with these people. And, this is not a good thing.

Sam is the main character. When we meet him he is a few years out from the suicide of his father. It is his final days of high school leading into the summer before college. Due to a car accident he has no license and must get a job for the summer. It is through that he gets more friendly with his high school crush, Ellie. Ellie comes on super strong as soon as he starts working with her but unfortunately she is another one of those modern women stereotypes. She is hanging out with a bad bf that treats her bad and is pregnant and having an abortion. She could have been presented as someone to care about, but as usual for this kind character, when presented with a good guy (Sam) she starts treating him bad for no apparent reason.

As another side plot Sam finds some old photos of an old boyfriend of his mom and tries to set them up together. This does end horribly as mom is upset at the interference.

Everyone does a fine job and the script isn't bad it just isn't something other than a faithful telling of real life, endlessly depressing real life.