When the Blue Crush wave hit the beach, summer ended.  Ironically, it ended as it started… with a movie from Universal.  Between April 17 to August 18, there were 47 wide releases by the studios and 46 legitimate limited or exclusive releases.  May and July were the fat months for the studios, with April and August only part-time months and June taking its time between Memorial Day and July 4 weekend.

There are two very different assessments of summer to be made.  The first is artistic.  The second is financial.  They are quite different.  And so, I shall separate them.

THE DeNIRO

This was one of the best summers in memory simply because there were more “good” movies than usual.  Great remained elusive.

April was poised to join the summer this year, but it wasn’t quite ready for prime time.  Believe me, they’ll try again next year.  There really wasn’t anything worth watching from the studios, as they held their fire for May… well, there was Changing Lanes, but for the purposes of this survey, it was out of the gate one week too early.

There were two great releases from Sony Classics, one of which is already available on video and DVD. 

But historically, the story of April 2002 will be My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which started its remarkable run on a modest 108 screens.  I haven’t seen the film, but it seems to be manna from heaven for the over-50 set.

It’s hard to decide what was worse in April… Angelina Jolie’s giant head on the poster for Life… or Something Like It or Ethan Hawke’s giant head, thinking that anyone deserved to sit through Chelsea Walls.

APRIL STUDIO

None

APRIL ART

Nine Queens
Do gtown and Z-Boys

APRIL STILL UNSEEN

The Scorpion King
My Big Fat Greek Wedding

THE WORST OF APRIL

Life, or Something Like It
Chelsea Walls

May was a month where going to the movies every week didn’t have to be painful… unless you had very sensitive ears.  There was something worth the trip every weekend and there was real variety, with a comic book film, a thinking adult’s sex thriller, a thoughtful light comedy, a worthy remake of a recent foreign language film and one of the smartest stupid comedies I’ve seen in years.

While the studios were pumping out high profile flicks, the art houses got quiet.  CQ was the only indie movie worth a look in May and then only if you really love movies and movies about movies.

It was a painful month for historically masterful directors.  Woody Allen made his worst film ever, despite a good premise and a terrific cast… Paul Cox slid celluloid underneath my nails until I begged to see a movie about old people having sex… and Eric Rohmer managed to use the most modern digital equipment to make an irritating version of a Georges Melies film. The good news is that it will probably be another seven years before we see another Scott Kalvert film.

MAY STUDIO

Spider-Man
Unfaithful
About a Boy
Insomnia
Undercover Brother

MAY ART

CQ

MAY STILL UNSEEN

The Sum of All Fears
The Importance of Being Earnest

THE WORST OF MAY

Deuces Wild
Hollywood Ending
The Lady and the Duke
Nijinsky: The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky

June had some nice films, but the dogs ruled the room.  Sadly, the media allowed two of the worst films overshadowed the best of the month.  Disney offered their best non-Pixar animation in many, many years.  Doug Liman overcame negative whispers and delivered a solid 70s style thriller.  And Spielberg and Cruise got a lot more people buzzing about removable eyes than Spielberg had in 2001 with A.I. 

There wasn’t a lot of room for art films in June, though a great documentary and a powerful movie about love, loss and Alzheimer’s got a perfunctory nod before heading to cable. 

But Bad Company turned out to be a gross understatement, Linda Cardellini’s “It means Scooby Poop” (which didn’t make it into the film) will forever be Scooby Doo’s tag line to me, Windtalkers proved that a movie based on an interesting premise can still be about absolutely nothing and Mr. Deeds should have used the money to pay back moviegoers who paid greenbacks to see him try to be funny.

JUNE STUDIO

The Bourne Identity
Lilo & Stitch
Minority Report

JUNE ART

War Photographer
A Song for Martin

JUNE STILL UNSEEN

The Fast Runner
The Emperor's New Clothes
Gangster No. 1
The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest

THE WORST OF JUNE

Bad Company
Scooby-Doo
Windtalkers
Mr. Deeds

July was a month of true mediocrity.   Eight Legged Freaks is, admittedly, a B movie.  Road to Perdition looked great and had great performances, but with a little time, Sam Mendes’ pulled punches proved to keep him from scoring a real knockout. 

You can still see Read My Lips and The Kid Stays in the Picture in many cities… do it. 

And the worst of the month were both films that didn’t deliver on their promises.  Reign of Fire turned out to be less good than either of its parts: the drama about people who have been displaced by plague-like tragedy and the action movie pitting man versus dragons.  And K:19 was a moral chess game that desperately tried to be an action film.  Imagine an argument with your significant other about who took out the garbage last as a $100 million CG-laden action film with bad accents.  Now wait for your $100 million check.

JULY STUDIO

Road to Perdition
Eight Legged Freaks

JULY ART

Read My Lips
The Kid Stays in the Picture

JULY UNSEEN

The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course Halloween: Resurrection
Stuart Little 2

THE WORST OF JULY

K-19: The Widowmaker
Reign of Fire

August was the big ending this year.  Three ambitious weekends in a row closed the door on the days of sunscreen.  The least popular of the Big Three, Blue Crush, is the best film.  Signs and XXX were okay, but both disappointed in the end. 

The same way that studios were holding their top pictures for summer in April, art companies were holding their best product for the fall season.  Mostly Martha made it just under the wire… and only on one coast.

The biggest category this month is The Unseen.  Why?  Well, I haven’t had any time to catch up.  But more to the point… why would I waste my time?  The only movies that I have any interest in are the Martin Lawrence concert film, which I can wait to see on cable and Jennifer Aniston in the Arteta.  Let’s hope it’s good.

AUGUST STUDIO

Blue Crush

AUGUST ART

Mostly Martha

AUGUST UNSEEN

Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat
The Master of Disguise
The Adventures of Pluto Nash
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
The Good Girl
Possession

THE WORST OF AUGUST

Blood Work

THE BEST OF SUMMER 2002

Tie – 8. About a Boy
Tie – 8. Blue Crush
Tie – 8. The Bourne Identity
Tie – 8. Lilo & Stitch
Tie – 8. Minority Report
Tie – 8. Spider-Man
Tie – 8. Undercover Brother
1. Nothing… there simply was no truly great film all summer, meaning a major theme and quality… 

THE WORST OF SUMMER 2002

Bad Company and Deuces Wild are amongst the worst studio films ever released.  Jerry Bruckheimer has made some pulp, but he’s never made a film before without any entertainment value whatsoever.  Congrats on the new achievement!  Don’t do it again, please.

PAGE TWO:  “The Other Side”