Almost Summer

Funny but airtight tale of student electioneering and crushes in Beach Boy/Beach Baby land, contemporary in setting but as backward-looking as The Lords of Flatbush (which Davidson co-directed). It's the same old 'Is There Life After High School?', lubricated by mesmerising visions of material privilege - sunshine, wheels, and no parents in sight. The performances are assured, the cutting slick, the whole story runs along with compulsive familiarity: Italian-style hustler runs an unknown candidate against super-popular ball-busting cheerleader. We gawp at harsh political realities (side order of irony here), naked ambition is eventually outclassed by immense personal integrity, and everyone gets partners at the prom.