Many people may believe that "Summer Fling" is a coming of age story. From my perception, I see that this movie is about a 17 year old boy growing up in 1977 Dublin, named Frankie Griffin(played by Jared Leto) trying to discover his destination in life. The movie starts out with Frankie taking exams for his completion of school. The results to these exams will play an important matter if either Frankie is going to further his education or has to get a job. Catherine O'Hara plays Frankie's mother, Cathleen, who is very political and devoted to her country. Frankie's father, played by Gabriel Byrne, is a steady stage actor who is a minor influence in Frankie's life and also to the film, but plays an important element in the storyline. Throughout the film, Frankie tries to gain the respect of two protestant girls that Cathleen is not to fond of. However, Christina Ricci plays Erin, a girl who is from America, is of Irish decent, and not protestant. Cathleen welcomes Erin with open arms, and Frankie just ignores her. Many people may think that "Summer Fling" is about a boy who has a fantasy about being in love with one of the two protestant girls. But to everyone's surprise, "Summer Fling" is about a boy who is on his journey into coming into manhood and along the way picking his own path in his life. I believe that this film a great original story that will make you rethink about important matters in your own life and making dreams of your own.
