''Welcome to 18'' (alternative title: ''Summer Release'') is a 1986 American

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by Terry Carr, who also wrote the screenplay with Judith Sherman Wolin. It stars

Mariska Hargitay Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, director and philanthropist. The daughter of bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, a People's ...

Courtney Thorne-Smith Courtney Thorne-Smith (born November 8, 1967) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Alison Parker on ''Melrose Place'', Georgia Thomas on '' Ally McBeal'', Cheryl Mabel in ''According to Jim'' and her recurring role on ...

and

JoAnn Willette Joann Willette (born October 12, 1963) is an American actress. Willette is best known for appearing in the role of Constance "Connie" Lubbock in the television series ''Just the Ten of Us'' from 1988 to 1990. She has also made appearances on a n ...

Plot

The film follows the adventures of three high school girls the summer after they graduate. After their jobs at a

dude ranch A guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism. History Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to occur ...

fail to work out, the girls head to

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

where they meet Talia (Cristen Kauffman). Talia's boyfriend Roscoe then helps the girls get a job at a casino which leads to trouble.

Cast

as Joey *

as Lindsey *

as Robin * Cristen Kauffman as Talia * E. Erich Anderson as Roscoe *

Graham Ludlow Graham Ludlow is a Canadian actor, executive, screenwriter and producer. Ludlow was born in England but grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. He graduated from Magee Secondary School. Ludlow wrote the film ''The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yuk ...

as Pipes

References

External links

* * * 1986 films 1980s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 1986 independent films 1980s teen comedy-drama films American coming-of-age comedy-drama films American independent films American teen comedy-drama films Films set in California Films shot in California 1986 directorial debut films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{1980s-comedy-drama-film-stub