A silly, but mostly entertaining product of its time, Summer Storm has all of the hallmarks of a gay coming of age film (and surprisingly few sports tropes!)

| Aug 13, 2024

Summer Storm envisions a world where adolescents find their affections and orientation up for grabs, with the outcome a bit more important than winning gold, silver or bronze.

| May 9, 2020

Thomas Bahmann and Kreuzpaintner's script has all the natural rhythm and humor of a long-expired crawfish.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 27, 2019

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 4, 2011

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 16, 2007

Don't let the trailer mislead you. Summer Storm is not some sort of supersexy European art film. It's kids being kids, and you've outgrown summer camp.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 18, 2006

Kreuzpaintner junks up this simple gay coming-of-age story with too many subplots and sitcomlike situations.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 26, 2006

There are at least a couple of disparate movies fighting for control in Summer Storm.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | May 26, 2006

Its coming-of-age yarn goes nowhere beyond inevitably out of a closet.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 19, 2006

Humor, toned bods, a mellow soundtrack and far too much predictability are the highlights and lowlight of Summer Storm.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | May 11, 2006

This gay coming-of-age film from Germany ultimately has few original aspects, but it is an intelligently wrought drama that makes it a respectable entry in the genre.

Full Review | May 10, 2006

Stadlober, a young Austrian actor cast in the leading role, is charming enough to survive most of the movie's labored attempts to lighten up.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 31, 2006

Recommended for its endearing performances, captivating locations and a poppy soundtrack that amiably underscores the bubbly sensuality of a summer in the sun.

| Original Score: C+ | Mar 30, 2006

While it has little in it that hasn't been covered by other coming-out movies, it's pleasant enough.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Mar 30, 2006

Kreutzpainter limns his multifarious characters with an amiable, unforced humor and an authentic feel for the ways in which good kids respond to peer pressure with less-than-admirable behavior.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 24, 2006

Equal parts earnest and endearing, Bavarian director Marco Kreuzpaintner's gay romance tackles its adolescent heartaches with unusual compassion.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 24, 2006

The slo-mo opening, accompanied by sappy music, tells you everything you need to know about Summer Storm, an uninspired gay coming-of-age import from Germany.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Mar 24, 2006

'Coming out' films are now rituals, patterned like dances, and Marco Kreuzpaintner's Summer Storm hits its generic marks.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 24, 2006

Summer Storm is another of those soft-core, simple-minded stories about a geeky young gay man (Robert Stadlober as Tobi) struggling with his sexuality over the course of a long, hot, sexed-up summer.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Mar 23, 2006

For a small coming-of-age film, this picture is remarkably well photographed and acted. But the single-mindedness with which it seems determined to have almost everyone rowing in the same sexual direction finally becomes a bit oppressive.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 23, 2006