White Water Summer 1987

White Water Summer 1987
PG | 1h 30min | Adventure, Drama | 10 July 1987 (USA)

Storyline:

An experienced guide (Vic) accompanies a city boy (Alan) and his three friends on their first wilderness experience. Hoping to teach the four boys lessons not only about the wilderness, but about themselves, Vic pushes them to the limit. Soon after alienating the boys, Vic finds himself in desperate need of help and must rely on his students in order to survive.

User review:

This is a response to the reviewers questioning Vick’s motives.

As a city boy who loves the outdoors, I totally understood where Kevin Bacon’s character was coming from, though, he was clearly a nut-job for the most part.

In my experience, city boys (i.e. Sean Astin’s character) cannot find value in the wilderness for the life of them, and obtaining a cellphone signal is their top priority at all times. This movie is about taking a break from our technology-infused world and getting back to the basics. The wilderness is a wonderful, rugged place that can really broaden anyone’s perspective on life. It’s about facing fears head-on and living to tell about it — those are the experiences that you remember in life.

I wish everyone would share these sentiments, as Vick probably does in this movie. But Vick’s major fault is failing to realize that people cannot be forced to enjoy something that’s unfamiliar and frightening to them. He feels he can get through to them but uses some extreme means and acts like a huge ass in the process.

Director: Jeff Bleckner
Writers: Manya Starr, Ernest Kinoy
Stars: Kevin Bacon, Sean Astin, Jonathan Ward
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 10 July 1987 (USA)
Also Known As: Rites of Summer
Filming Locations: Cromberg, California, USA