''Indian Summer'' is a 1993 American comedy drama film written and directed by

Mike Binder Mike Binder (born June 2, 1958) is an American filmmaker, stand-up comedian, and actor. Life and career Binder, descended from Russian-Jewish immigrants, grew up in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham. During the summers of 1966 through 1975, he a ...

. The movie was filmed at Camp Tamakwa (a

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

Algonquin Provincial Park Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in Ontario, Canada, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Cana ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

), which Binder had attended for ten summers as a child camper. ''Indian Summer'' features an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

, including Binder's childhood friend, film director

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1 ...

, who has a supporting role in it.

Plot

"Unca" Lou Handler (

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...

), the beloved owner and director of Camp Tamakwa, invites thirty former campers - from the camp's "golden years" two decades ago - back to the camp to announce his retirement. Seven friends who attended during the summer of 1972, all now adults, respond to the invitation and return for a one-week reunion. Once there, the group comes to feel nostalgic memories of their youth, and unresolved feelings for each other begin to surface. The invitees include clothing designer Matt Berman (

Vincent Spano Vincent M. Spano Jr. (born October 18, 1962) is an American film, stage and television actor; he is also a film director and producer. Early life Spano was born in Brooklyn, New York to Italian-American parents Vincent Sr. and Theresa. Career ...

), his cousin and business partner Brad Berman (

Kevin Pollak Kevin Elliot Pollak (born October 30, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host. He has appeared in over 80 films; his roles include Sam Weinberg in Rob Reiner's legal film ''A Few Good Men'', Jacob Goldman in '' Grump ...

), Matt's wife Kelly (

Julie Warner Juliet Mia Warner (born ) is an American actress. She is best known as Danni on ''Family Law'' (1999–2001) and Megan on ''Nip/Tuck'' (2003-2006), Elaine in '' Mr. Saturday Night'' (1992), Michelle in ''Tommy Boy'' (1995), Micki in '' Wedding ...

), Kelly's friend and Matt's ex-girlfriend Jennifer Martin (

Elizabeth Perkins Elizabeth Ann Perkins (born November 18, 1960) is an American actress. Her film roles have included '' About Last Night'' (1986), ''Big'' (1988), ''Avalon'' (1990), and '' He Said, She Said'' (1991), ''The Flintstones'' (1994), ''Miracle on 34th ...

), art gallery employee Jack Belston (

Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), ''Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 13 ...

), recently widowed Beth Warden (

Diane Lane Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film ''A Little Romance''. The two films that could have catapulted her to star ...

), and carefree bachelor Jamie Ross (

Matt Craven Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

), who brings his much younger girlfriend, 21-year-old Gwen Daugherty ( Kimberly Williams). While willing to participate in the camp reunion, Brad finds the place smaller and dingier than he remembers, and he can't wait to get back to managing his business. Matt feels trapped being in business with Brad, despite their success, because he wants to do other things with his life. Uncertain about his relationship with Kelly, Matt expresses renewed romantic feelings for Jennifer. Worldly but still single and occasionally lonely as she approaches middle age, Jennifer is tempted to reciprocate. Lou has other ideas, though, and he nips their tryst in the bud. Kelly confronts Matt about her concern that he is becoming distant, after which they work to repair their relationship. Beth is working through the trauma of losing her husband Rick to a tragic accident one year ago. Jack was Rick's best friend, and regrets not being able to attend his funeral. Although initially tentative in their interactions, Beth and Jack eventually begin a relationship with each other during the reunion. Jamie is happy being single, with no intentions of starting a family anytime soon. Gwen wants to start a family, and increasingly resents and eventually stands up to Jamie's dismissal and objectification of her. Having been kicked out of camp as a child and sent home by Unca Lou, Jack nevertheless returns to make amends for what he did - burying Lou's 1946

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

boxing trophy in retaliation for an act of racial prejudice committed by Lou, very much inconsistent with the values taught at camp. Lou eventually acknowledges this and expresses regret over his actions. Camp traditions include moose watching, shreks (pranks), Lou doing a "dirty dog" (catching campers sneaking out of their cabins at night), the morning wakeup bell, taking what recreational opportunities Wakonda (the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

god of weather) provides, boxing as both athletic discipline and means of settling arguments, and Lou bestowing the same "super-secret Indian name" (Thundering Cloud) on young campers having trouble socially adjusting to the camp environment. Lou's primary reason for retiring is his inability to connect with a new generation of kids more interested in boomboxes and headphones than in the great outdoors. Beth and Jack decide they are up to the task, and they want to continue running the camp. Lou gives them his blessing, and they go on to welcome the next class of Tamakwa campers.

Cast

as Lou "Unca" Handler *

as Jamie Ross *

as Beth Warden / Claire Everett In A Flashback *

as Jack Belston *

as Jennifer Morton *

as Brad Berman *

as "Stick" Coder *

as Matthew Berman *

as Kelly Berman * Kimberly Williams as Gwen Daugherty

Reception

The film's reviews were mixed. It holds a 58% "rotten" rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 19 reviews.

References

External links

* * *
Camp Tamakwa
{{Mike Binder 1993 films American comedy-drama films 1993 comedy-drama films Touchstone Pictures films Films about summer camps Films directed by Mike Binder Films scored by Miles Goodman 1990s English-language films 1990s American films