‘The Last Summer’ bores audiences and fails to depict realities of teen experience

By Penelope Misceo

Staff Writer

While the actors gave it their all, nothing can save “The Last Summer” from its unrealistic depiction of teenagers.

Released on Netflix and directed by William Bindley, the film stars KJ Apa and Maia Mitchell. The plot follows nine teenagers during their final summer before heading off to college and beginning their new careers.

“The Last Summer” fails to provide an engaging or realistic story and creates an unnecessary amount of subplots, all of which are hard to follow. While the actors try their best to represent emotional depth within their characters, the writing is too unrealistic for them to succeed.

One of the main struggles of the film is its failure to represent teenagers in believable ways. The actors are all well over 18, the age their characters are supposed to be. This could have been overlooked if other aspects of the film made an effort to depict the coming-of-age process. However, none of the dialogue, situations or storylines show an understanding of what it’s like to be a teen. An overarching topic of the film is college. Each character discusses going away to school but only expresses interest in top-tier schools, which does not make for the most interesting storyline.

Films of the same genre, such as “To All the Boys I Loved Before,” have been made successfully before, but “The Last Summer” falls short in its inability to create anything unique. The film doesn’t say anything special about the experience or emotions of its target audience and is unaware of its impractical views on teenagers. It tries to convince its audience that the characters are real, authentic teens, when in fact, they have no similarities to modern day teenagers.

“The Last Summer” is also lacking in its ability to make a coherent, purposeful plot. There are several different storylines being told at once, which is similar in style to movies like “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” Of these storylines, only a select few are developed. Since there is so much going on, distinctions between each character and their development becomes difficult to follow. Building on this confusion is the fact that none of the storylines seem to have any relation to each other. Aside from the occasional and brief conversation between characters during a party scene, the cohesion between plotlines is hard to find.

The principal issue with “The Last Summer” is that it doesn’t understand its audience. If the film was strong in other aspects, such as the cinematography or performances by actors, then this factor could be overlooked. However, it struggles as a whole to tell a relatable story for any audience, regardless of age. Its viewers don’t feel represented in any way, making its entertainment factor low.

“The Last Summer” fails to tell a realistic story and leaves audiences bored. The film’s inability to portray teens causes its storytelling elements to falter. Although the actors try their best to evoke emotion, the lack of unique aspects makes the film unable to be saved.

Released on May 3, “The Last Summer” is currently available for streaming on Netflix.