Edward Burns’ film Summer Days, Summer Nights (2021) follows the tradition of Dazed & Confused (1993), American Graffiti (1973), The Last Days Of Disco (1998), and Adventureland (2009). Burns’ film is a coming of age story structured with the low stakes and compelling characters of a “hangout” movie. And, true to form, Summer Days, Summer Nights is at its best when characters are just shooting the breeze.
Shot in 2018 but not released until 2021, Summer Days, Summer Nights features among its young players some faces who have already become quite famous. This is particularly true with regards to Anthony Ramos who had a breakout role in the film In The Heights (2021). All in all the ensemble cast is excellent and with a lot of chemistry.
The thing about Edward Burns is that, despite the intelligence of his writing and the commercial potential of his films, he never became very popular or much of a critical darling. Like Alan Rudolph, Burns has such a good ear for dialogue that he can write the most cliche scene and make it feel fresh and organic. However, therein lies the problem. A film by Edward Burns is neither entirely “arty” nor commercial but exists in a grey area in-between; a kind of limbo.
As a slice of life portrait Summer Days, Summer Nights really does work. Burns creates an authentic tapestry of scenes and players that manages to reanimate the world of recent high school graduates in the early eighties. In a way Summer Days, Summer Nights might be too authentic since none of the melodrama is all that high stakes or earth shattering. The film deals with a world where the big issues are boyfriends, girlfriends, and moving into a dorm.
Burns doesn’t promise anything more than this with Summer Days, Summer Nights. It’s a simple film about the summer before college that has a terrific soundtrack and nothing but likable characters. Summer Days, Summer Nights is a film to be taken at face value as a diverting reflection of a chapter in all our lives.
