Road trip films tend to offer a satisfactory slice of escapism to their audience, packaged in the thrill of a big journey, some soul searching and a deep connection with friends. The new comedy film from Lankyboy, — a directing duo consisting of Kurtis David Harder and Noah Kentis — Summerland is no exception to this. As a queer coming-of-age film, it is slightly more refreshing than the conventional tropes of a road trip adventure, but its narrative could have benefited from a more fruitful essence. The contradictory actions and beliefs of the central characters made it more difficult to sink your teeth into, and the overtly negative portrayal of queer feelings makes it harder to engage with it fully. Navigating queer desire can be fearful, but it is also exciting and fascinating — something that the story could have benefited from exploring more.
The journey begins with a montage of Facebook pictures of Stacey (Maddie Phillips). We discover that Bray (Chris Ball) is saving the images to upload to a Christian dating site, in order to pose as ‘Victoria’, as a ruse to talk to men online. Bray exclaims to his best friend Oliver (Rory J. Saper) that he’s convinced that Shawn (Dylan Playfair), the guy he is talking to, is gay or questioning, even though he has no idea that the person behind the profile is a man. If there’s one way to make a character unlikable, it’s by making them a catfish. Who says romance is dead?
Bray and Oliver are heading off to the music festival Summerland before Oliver is forced to head back to England once his visa expires. He is yet to tell his girlfriend Stacey, but wants to enjoy one last trip with her before he heads home, and her parents conveniently own an RV they can use for the journey. Bray, who is pretending to be ‘Victoria’ using her pictures, was not expecting her to join, so it is only a matter of time before everything comes to light.
Dramatic irony can only work for so long, and as the trio’s destination arrival looms closer and closer, there is not a great deal of room to question how their story will end. After all, it is a parting of ways, the last hurrah before the group splits for the foreseeable future. I suppose there is comfort to be found in pieces like Summerland that lean into their easy-flowing storyline and leave little room for interpretation. Almost as a rite of passage, the group decides to stop in a national park that Stacey has visited before to trip on shrooms. Their psychedelic trip is somewhat reminiscent of Pineapple Express, as they explore the outdoors and find pleasure in each other’s company and dumb antics. Cathartic moments are shared, and the trip continues.
Embedded later in their trip is a surrealist moment that involves the trio attending a local party, where Andrew (Onyx Shelton) seemingly speaks to Bray’s soul as they sit in a blackened room alone (very Get Out vibes). This was as fascinating to watch as it was uncomfortable, although it can be appreciated as a moment of deeper acceptance regarding sexual expression on Bray’s part. Even though It doesn’t fully make sense at this time, there is an ominous feeling that something deep must be addressed, reading as a dreamlike portrayal of internalized homosexual acceptance. It’s a shame that the film fails to include more moments like this. Moments that marry the stylistic expression with the gripping thematic elements such as experimentalism and enrich the navigation of sexuality throughout.
Albeit a comedy, Summerland does attempt to touch on complex issues such as internalized homophobia, the impact that the internet has on modern relationships and physical connections. The fact that Bray feels the need to pose as a woman online to receive attention from men that he is attracted to is rather unsettling and sad. As a young gay man, he does not have any examples of behavior encompassing masculine desire around him that he can relate to. All the men in his life are seemingly attracted to women, so to go off what he knows is slightly understandable, even if he’s essentially stealing someone’s identity virtually. Catfishing is a terrible act, and it makes it more difficult to sympathize with Bray, however, this mimicry of femininity to gain male attention makes sense when put into this perspective. I appreciate the intended sincerity, however, I do feel as though the narrative may have been more satisfactory if this had been verbally addressed more so — the complacency of Bray’s close ones is somewhat disorientating.
In a year where the potential opportunity of visiting festivals and traveling have been truly D.O.A, Summerland is a suitably cheesy fix, and its expression of Bray accepting his sexuality is fascinating and heartwarming in places. For a queer road trip comedy I was expecting more positive and accepting representation overall, especially as a film made for the younger demographic. The writers do not stray far from cheap homosexual stereotypes, which reads as a missed opportunity. Granted, the catfishing elements are indeed questionable, but Summerland feels unlike any other portrayal of a young gay teenager in recent memory.
