Before Stolen Summer was the subject of the HBO reality show "Project Greenlight", it was a story. It was a very good story and that is why it won a nationwide screenwriting contest put on by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The winner would get his screenplay made into a movie and that is what happened with this film. HBO capitalized on the story by making a reality show called "Project Greenlight" which detailed the production ups and downs during the making of the film. I never saw a full episode of Project Greenlight and I don't know if that had an impact on my enjoyment of the film, but I found Stolen Summer to be a charming, touching and insightful film about children, family, and religion.
Stolen Summer is a story that takes place in 1976 Chicago. The story centers around a young catholic boy, Pete O'Malley (Adiel Stein), one of eight children in the Irish Catholic family. He goes to Catholic school with his brother and he is always getting into trouble there. So much, that the nun tells him he will be going to Hell if he doesn't change. Being in the second grade and about to go into the third grade, he becomes convinced he is going to Hell and asks his brother what he can do to change it. His brother tells him about how St. Paul was converted and then went about converting the Jews. The light bulb goes off in little Pete's head and he has his "quest" for the summer - to convert Jews to Catholicism. Along the way Pete meets Rabbi Jacobsen (Kevin Pollak). Of course he would meet a Rabbi, he has been hanging out at the Temple, where else does one go to find Jews? He also meets Rabbi Jacobsen's son who is the same age as Pete.
Despite centering on young Pete O'Malley's quest, the story also has a couple of subplots. They are skillfully woven into the rest of the movie. One of the main one's is Joe O'Malley (Aidan Quinn), the fire-fighting father of eight who has a beer in his hand whenever he is not at the fire station. He is struggling to come to term with his recently graduated oldest son Patrick (Eddie Kaye Thomas)'s career decisions. This is handled in a realistic and sensitive manner.
The acting in Stolen Summer is very good, from veteran actors like Quinn and Brian Denehey (as their Priest) to the children who play the two young main characters, Pete and the Rabbi's son, Danny Jacobsen (Mike Weinberg). Kevin Pollak is exceptional as the Rabbi as is Bonnie Hunt as the mother O'Malley.
This is a strongly written and directed film that manages to be both charming and effective. It is funny, and it is sad. It makes us look at things such as the roles we play in family, the differences and the commonalities in religion, and the naiveté of youth. Stolen Summer is also a film about the joys and sorrows of childhood, at times I was reminded of the film Radio Flyer. This movie should be well received if you are looking for a cute but serious charming drama with a good story and acting. If you require a little more than that to be entertained, you may want to wait for something else.
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