TheBlueHairedLawyer Ping Pong Summer, at the time I'm writing this, has only a 5.3/10 rating. Apparently it's not too popular with viewers, but I loved it. Why? Hmm, maybe it's because I hate the 21st century, I hate the digital age and it's nice to see a movie where there's not a single damned cellular phone in sight. Maybe I'm happy to find a movie made in 2014 that doesn't have any crude humor in it. Maybe it's all the Eighties nostalgia, how the fashion, makeup, cars, music and script all matches up to the era, or maybe it's the far out animation featured in the title credits? If you're looking for a funny, old school-style movie with decent acting and a good plot, this is definitely one you'll want to see! The plot follows a very eventful summer in the life of Rad (Radical, poor kid) Miracle, a teenage boy growing up in 1985 who gets dragged along with his mom, dad and slightly gothy-looking sister to a summer house in Maryland. It's right up there with movies like The Ice Storm (1997), Harold and Maude (1972), Super 8 (2011), National Lampoon Vacation (1983), Sleepaway Camp (1983) and My Girl (1991) for memorable coming-of-age movies. I was sorta dreading Ping Pong Summer at first but I'm glad I watched it; it was hilarious without being rude, and the characters were all really original, odd in a good way, and it honestly deserves a better rep.

louissouthpaw The premise was great. Having grown up in the 80's, when I saw the description I had to watch this movie. The first five minutes really got my hopes up. I love nostalgia and the film was spot on as the director shot it through a mid 80's camera lens. Except for the 1989 police car, (horrible choice) everything was authentic for the most part. But the plot was too formulaic. Too many movie clichés. However, there were some funny moments. This film is only worth watching due to the fact that there's a shortage of new 80's nostalgia films like this. Because it's seen through the eyes of a young teen male, it might only be enjoyable for a guy in his forties today as he might be able to reminisce of his 80's childhood through the film.

dioditto This movie is an interesting study if you compare it to last year's "The Way Way Back" (2013)- it has almost identical premise, a dorky teenager going on summer holiday with family with a pushy/pissy older sister. Somehow along the line this movie just gets worse and worse, as nothing is happening and you are hoping something is going to happen and suddenly it is the end.First, there is no character growth, the movie's protagonist is a "dork" that came of age, and you expect there is something happening in the plot that force this dorky teenager out of his comfort zone for some real character growth, and meet some mentoring type who pity him and take him under his or her wing. But instead the movie is just all fluff - its like the director decided to do a period piece (early 1980s) and forgot about the plot - its almost like he let these clueless actors to improvise on the spot - nothing is happening, nothing is structured, its all just bits and pieces that are not funny nor entertaining to watch, its worse than some of the historical documentary I have seen - at least these documentary are edited to appear interesting, and structured. this here, is not.Susan Sarandon was hugely underused in this movie - this movie is 1 hour 30 minutes including the credits - and 1 hour in (2/3 of the movie) and her character is finally kicking into gear. The whole time I was waiting for her to do something like Sam Rockwell's character in "The Way Way Back" - and she only appeared briefly for less than a few seconds. So 1 hour in, she appeared for less than 10 minutes as the "mentor" to teach the main character from getting out of embarrassing situation - and she is gone again.Overall, this movie is just a dull uninteresting tedious affair. Its just like watching paint dry.I got an advice for you director Michael Tully - if you don't have an interesting story to tell, shut the hell up and stop wasting people's time!

Marten Lundin I liked the looks of this one already in the trailer, deliciously quirky. I was pleasantly surprised when the movie itself turned out to be even better than I had imagined. This movie is a low-key, comical comment on the innocence of the 80s and the classic 80s movies. Everything is so beautifully dorky its insane. They pretty much got it all in there - the music, the clothes, the family summer vacation experience, finding new friends, finding first love and standing up to the bully (in this case with a ping pong competition). I guess its hard to appreciate all the effort if you never experienced the real deal. This probably works best as a charmingly silly nostalgia trip for us old-timers.