''Aloha Summer'' is a 1988 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by

Tommy Lee Wallace Thomas Lee Wallace (born September 6, 1949) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror genre, directing films such as '' Halloween III: Season of the Witch'' and '' Fright Night Part 2'' and also dir ...

and starring

Chris Makepeace Christopher Makepeace (born April 22, 1964) is a Canadian former actor, known for his starring roles in the coming-of-age film ''My Bodyguard'' (1980) and comedy horror '' Vamp'' (1986), and supporting roles in the screwball comedy ''Meatballs'' ...

Yuji Okumoto is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Chozen Toguchi in the film '' The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986) and its sequel television series ''Cobra Kai'' (2021–2025). He has also appeared in the films '' Better Off Dead,'' ''Real Ge ...

Tia Carrere Althea Rae Duhinio Janairo (born January 2, 1967), known professionally as Tia Carrere (), is an American actress and singer who got her first big break as a regular on the daytime soap opera ''General Hospital''. Carrere played Cassandra Wong i ...

and

Don Michael Paul Donald Michael Paul (born April 17, 1963) is an actor, director, writer, and producer. Biography He starred in the films '' Heart of Dixie'' and '' Rich Girl'' with Jill Schoelen and appeared in '' Aloha Summer''. He wrote the screenplay for ...

. The plot is about a group of teenagers and their experiences one summer in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Premise

In 1959, an American teenager travels from the

Contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

to Hawaii with his parents for a vacation and meets five other teenagers. The film follows the teenagers as they learn about surfing, drinking, sex, and friendship.

Reception

Caryn James of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called it "empty nostalgia done for its own sake". Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote the film surprises viewers with its depth and themes, which include racism. ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' wrote, "Though they didn't create a very good movie, the filmmakers had their hearts in the right place, and for that they should be commended."

References

External links

* * * 1988 films 1980s teen comedy-drama films American teen comedy-drama films Films set in 1959 Films set in Hawaii Films shot in Hawaii Films directed by Tommy Lee Wallace 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language teen comedy-drama films {{1980s-US-film-stub