Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
In 1991, a sheltered teenager comes of age during a wild summer on Cape Cod, getting rich from selling pot to gangsters, falling in love for the first time, partying, and eventually realizing that he's in way over his head.
Hot Summer Nights is a stylish but derivative coming-of-age crime drama that wears its influences (Stand By Me, Blow, Boogie Nights) openly on its sleeve. The plot follows a fairly predictable arc of a naive teenager getting in over his head in the drug trade, offering few surprises. Acting is competent, with Timothée Chalamet bringing charisma to his role but the supporting cast is uneven. The cinematography has some atmospheric Cape Cod summer imagery and stylistic flourishes but doesn't transcend its era-nostalgia aesthetic. Novelty is low as the film largely recycles familiar coming-of-age and drug-dealing tropes without a distinctive enough voice to set it apart. The ending is adequately handled though not particularly surprising given the trajectory.