Confusingly sharing a title with a 2020 UK wartime drama starring Gemma Atherton, this Summerland is actually a risibly smart, well-acted teenage road comedy from the directing duo of Noah Kentis and Curtis David Harderh—known together as "Lankyboy," and, prior to this, purveyors of DIY low-budget horror movies using friends. Their Summerland was also made for next to no money (they have actually claimed zero production costs, no sets, no shooting permits whatsoever - where's the Dogme 95 certification?) but takes a higher road in terms of material.
Bray (Chris Ball) is a gay Canadian virgin with a distant crush on a hunky, heterosexual acquaintance. Bray "catfishes" the guy online with sexy photos actually cut/pasted from the social media of Bray's gal-pal Stacy (Maddie Phillips), and loving messages set the target up for a rendezvous at a trendy California music fest called Summerland (portrayed onscreen by the Joshua Tree Music Festival), where Bray hopes to confess his infatuation and get a positive outcome. But he needs two unwitting co-conspirators for the plan, the upscale and privileged Stacy, with access to an RV, and Stacy's friendly but rather irresponsible UK-born boyfriend Oliver (Rory J. Saper).
Envisioning the whole thing as a big-road-trip adventure before adulthood and college, the trio set off. While some elements seem typical teensploitation fodder (a cache of drugs, a sex party, an impulsive stopover in Las Vegas), they pay off in unexpected ways, and the good-natured movie, exhibiting precocious wisdom, ends with most loose ends not neatly tied up or happily-ever-after resolved—just like real life. Most importantly, this self-described no-outlay project looks great and is no less of an experience than many a multi-million-dollar mainstream-studio release along the same lines such as Road Trip and Sex Drive. The LGBT element taps into that niche audience well. (Aud: P)