Stolen Summer

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Stolen Summer ★★ Project Greenlight's Stolen Summer 2002 (PG)

The background of the film (first-timer Jones won a national competition sponsored by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) may be more interesting than this decidedly old-fashioned story. It's a Chicago summer in 1976 with young Irish Catholic Pete O'Malley (Stein) deciding that, in order to get to heaven, he needs to convert his Jewish friend Danny Jacobsen (Weinberg). Danny's father (Pollak), who happens to be a rabbi, takes the news benignly while Pete's dad, Joe (Quinn), has some trouble believing that his family is not being condescended to. The performances are appealing and there's a good lesson about the acceptance of another's religion. 95m/C VHS, DVD . US Adi Stein, Mike Weinberg, Aidan Quinn, Kevin Pollak, Bonnie Hunt, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Brian Dennehy; D: Pete Jones; W: Pete Jones; C: Pete Biagi; M: Danny Lux.