A fairly harmless but ultimately lifeless feature-length afterschool special.
Comment
04/09/02
Rate this Movie 
Stolen Summer (2002)
35
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:57
Fresh:20
Rotten:37
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: Stolen Summer feels like a sugary after-school special stretched out to feature length.
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Reviews for Stolen Summer
Click to read the article
04/07/02
Each character has depth and distinction; their interaction is a pleasure. And the story is one that has definite good-hearted purpose.
04/06/02
In an effort, I suspect, not to offend by appearing either too serious or too lighthearted, it offends by just being wishy-washy.
04/05/02
Made with no discernible craft and monstrously sanctimonious in dealing with childhood loss.
03/26/02
Top CriticNever capitalizes on this concept and opts for the breezy and amateurish feel of an after school special on the subject of tolerance.
03/25/02
Click to read the article
03/24/02
A sweet story appropriate for the whole family, though it feels a bit like an after-school special.
03/22/02
An artificial exercise in personal childhood reverie whose squishy, generic personality shows evidence aplenty of corporate fingerprints.
03/22/02
Top CriticIt's like every bad idea that's ever gone into an after-school special compiled in one place, minus those daytime programs' slickness and sophistication (and who knew they even had any?).
03/22/02
Plays out with a dogged and eventually winning squareness that would make it the darling of many a kids-and-family-oriented cable channel.
03/22/02
Top CriticUltimately ... the movie is too heady for children, and too preachy for adults.
03/22/02
The best you can say about it is it's so uninspired, it barely gives one pause when considering some of the other dreck out there right now.
03/22/02
Watching Stolen Summer makes one question the entire Project Greenlight process, starting with the notion that anyone off the street is fit to write and direct a motion picture if only they want it badly enough.
03/22/02
Top CriticJones ... makes a great impression as the writer-director of this little $1.8 million charmer, which may not be cutting-edge indie filmmaking but has a huge heart.
03/22/02
Top CriticBegins promisingly with some nicely observed bits of comedy before drifting permanently into the kind of heavier message mode that would have made for the ideal after-school special.
03/22/02
Top CriticA delightful surprise because despite all the backstage drama, this is a movie that tells stories that work -- is charming, is moving, is funny and looks professional.
03/22/02
Top CriticIt has the wide, winsome, don't-hurt-me eyes of a Walter Keane painting. Unfortunately, though, it isn't very good.
03/21/02
Top CriticWell-meaning but inert.
03/21/02
Top CriticIt's earnest, if weighed down by drippy sentiments.
03/21/02
Latest News for Stolen Summer
September 19, 2005:
Fox Demands to See Farrellys "Hall Pass"
Pete Jones' spec script for the comedy "Hall Pass" has been picked up by Fox, and the moviemakers are looking to hand it over to professional yuksters Peter &... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
History of Disney Animation 
MSN Movies offers a little background on the success of Disney Animation.
90 Years of Screen Vampires
TIME takes a look back at the history of vampires on film.
Virtuoso Vistas of Lovely Bones
Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.
Recent Headlines as TV Movies
AOL put together a list of 10 recent news items that would be perfect as TV Movies.
The Death of Original Thought
Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill explores how remakes and reboots have warped our thinking.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds