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A PLUMM SUMMER

What You Need To Know:

A PLUMM SUMMER is the story of two brothers who set out to solve the mystery of a missing puppet, the star of a local children’s TV show. Set in 1968 in a small Montana town, teenage Elliott and his young tag-a-long brother Rocky try to find out who “kidnapped” Rocky’s favorite TV star, puppet Froggy-Doo. Befriending Haley, the new teenage girl who moved in next door, the kids try to whittle down the list of suspects which includes Froggy-Doo’s co-star, Happy Herb, played by Henry Winkler.

The adventure is fun with a couple of plot surprises, and the characters are engaging. The main story is a kid-caper, but there are also strong, emotional sub-plots along the way. The brothers’ alcoholic father has to face his problems and stop blaming his oldest son for his own failures. There’s a story of young romance between Elliott and Haley, but the strongest theme is brotherly love. Though Elliott has to take care of his younger brother and initially dislikes it; in the end, he realizes that Rocky is his best friend. The movie is “clean” with one profanity, one obscenity, and minor violence.

Content:

(BB, H, L, V, N, AA, MM) Moral worldview extolling brotherly love and biblical virtues, but no reference to God; one mild obscenity and one profanity; teenage boy hits another teenage boy in nose, bottles thrown against wall and at person; no sexual content; upper teenage male nudity at swimming pool; drinking of beer, drunkenness negatively portrayed; no smoking or drug use; and, lying to parents, sneaking out, bumbling FBI agents, and negative father figure.

More Detail:

PLUMM SUMMER is the story of the two Plumm brothers who set out to solve the mystery of a missing puppet, the star of a local children’s TV show. Set in 1968 in a small Montana town, teenage Elliott (played by Chris J. Kelly) and his young tag-a-long brother Rocky (played by Owen Pearce) try to find out who “kidnapped” Rocky’s favorite TV star, puppet Froggy-Doo. Befriending Haley (played by Morgan Flynn), the new teenage girl who moved in next door, the children try to whittle down the list of suspects which includes Froggy-Doo’s co-star, Happy Herb (played by Henry Winkler).

The adventure is fun with a couple of plot surprises and the characters are engaging. The two teenagers are Hardy Boys and Trixie Belden fans, and the enjoyable mystery is reminiscent of those types of plots. The main story is a kid-caper, but there are also strong, emotional sub-plots along the way. The alcoholic father Mick (played by William Baldwin) of the Plumm brothers has to face his problems and stop blaming his oldest son for his own failures. There’s a story of young romance between Elliott and Haley, but the strongest theme is one of brotherly love. Though Elliott has to take care of his younger brother and initially dislikes it; in the end, he realizes that Rocky is also his best friend. That is a fresh and welcome take on a story of two siblings.

While there is no mention of God nor faith, the movie reflects a moral worldview with the biblical theme of putting others before yourself. Set in a small town, the movie displays an innocence of a bygone era. A PLUMM SUMMER is very “clean” except for one profanity and one obscenity and contains no sexual content. Elliott punches the town bully for calling his brother names, but regrets his action because it is too much like his father’s actions, the ex-boxer. Elliott throws his father’s beer bottles against the wall and at his father in a rage over his dad’s drinking and rejection of him. At one point, young Rocky buys a pack of bubble gum cigarettes, a product which is no longer marketed and might be misunderstood by a young viewer. In pursuit of the missing puppet, the kids sneak out twice against their parent’s wishes. The kidnapping grows in notoriety and bumbling FBI agents show up, but the young adolescents’ actions solve the mystery instead.

A PLUMM SUMMER is a terrific movie for the family and would be most enjoyed by young children. It’s a movie that parents can watch with their children with no major content concerns. There’s much to like and much to recommend about the movie and is one that can be watched for the fun caper, but also enjoyed for the story of brotherly love.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.