''Dog Days of Summer'' is a 2007 American independent feature film directed by

Mark Freiburger Stephen Mark Freiburger (born July 16, 1983) is an American filmmaker. Early life and education * Graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2005. Film work * Writer/Director of the upcoming feature film ''Follow By ...

and shot on location in Edenton,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. It is based on an original screenplay by screenwriters Travis Beacham and Christopher J. Waild. The film stars

Will Patton William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''. He also appeared in the films ''Remember the Titans'', ''Armageddon'' ...

Richard Herd Richard Thomas Herd Jr. (September 26, 1932 – May 26, 2020) was an American actor, appearing in numerous supporting, recurring, and guest roles in television series and occasional film roles, from the 1970s to the 2010s. He was well known in th ...

Devon Gearhart Devon Gearhart (born May 5, 1995) is an American actor. Early life Gearhart was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and began acting at the age of seven, landing national commercials with Burger King, PBS, Pizza Hut and the Cartoon Network ...

, and

Colin Ford Colin Ford (born September 12, 1996) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Josh Wheeler in '' Daybreak'', Joe McAlister in '' Under the Dome'', the voice of Jake on ''Jake and the Never Land Pirates'', Mikey on '' Can You Teach My A ...

Plot

''Dog Days of Summer'' opens with adult Philip Walden paying a visit to the unnamed town where he grew up. In a voiceover, he expresses his disgust over the ramshackle, broken down state of things, and, with trepidation, recalls "the summer I unwillingly grew up." That summer kicked off with the arrival of Eli (Will Patton), as witnessed by preteen Philip (Devon Gearhart) and best friend Jackson (Colin Ford). The two boys stare in awe as Eli tumbles out of his ancient-looking car and invite the townsfolk over to look at his amazing model circus. It is not long before Eli convinces the mayor to pay him to create a scale model of the town for the upcoming bisesquicentennial. Philip and Jackson, both dealing with troubles at home, glom onto Eli, using his old camera to take pictures of the town for Eli to use as inspiration. Despite its picture-perfect surface, Philip's town is anything but idyllic. His father is a minister, but not exactly the heroic kind—more the philandering kind. Jackson's blind father drinks his life away, mourning the loss of Jackson's mother to a car crash. Both boys are lost in a sea of adult emotions, with neither the maturity nor the resources to cope. As the boys take pictures for Eli, they watch the lives of those they love unraveling around them, and struggle to hang onto their dream of an uncomplicated life where the sun is always high and the river is filled with fish...

Cast

Release

The film was released on April 18, 2008 and opened as the 22nd highest per screen average in the nation out of the 122 recorded films in theatrical release.

Home media

The North American DVD release date was April 21, 2009

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dog Days of Summer (film) 2007 films 2007 directorial debut films 2007 independent films American coming-of-age drama films Films shot in North Carolina Films with screenplays by Travis Beacham American independent films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films