A Swedish Midsummer Sex Comedy (2009) User Reviews

So Wrong...its a scandal

[annika_brandt · 3/10 · 18 January 2012]

I just looked at a little part of this movie. I was so "angry" at it.

Totally wrong image is painted in this movie. Midsummer is not about sex... it doesn't work this way the are showing it in this movie.

I think it's a little bit of a scandal how they painting the Swedish beautifully tradition has Midsummer is. Midsummer is about the nature gods, nature!!! NOT alcohol and Sex!!!

They should have checked the true informations a little bit more the started to film this movie.

How would you all say if someone spread wrong information about Christmas or some els traditional or some els religion tradition???

Flawed....

[CurtHerzstark · 27 June 2012]

Comedy dramas is a popular genre in Sweden mainly because they usually generate a lot of money and therefore will be a hit at box office. However, few directors in Sweden seem to understand that the genre is difficult, and that is hard to reach and maintain a good balance between comedy and drama.

This film being one of the proofs how hard it is the maintain a good balance.

The story is about a group friends(and one American) that decides to celebrate midsummer together in the Swedish archipelago. Everyones is planning to have good time but soon conflicts arise, truths are being told, lies exposed....

Setting a comedy drama during a holiday, and in this case one of the most biggest holidays in Sweden, is great choice because then you will have small group people to explore and create drama from.

Just like a wedding, Christmas, holiday trip etc. But problem here is that some of the script is uneven, flawed and doesn't give us anything new. There is some slapstick comedy that feels misplaced and wrong.

The dialogue is not as good as should been either. But the actors do their best, for example Olle Sarri Swedish comedian, who does his best in trying to be funny.

But that is not enough, when the script is so bland and so boring at times. With 4 screenwriters one would have expected more.

However, this film was more entertaining then the very overrated Sommaren med Göran - En midsommarnattskomedi/ A Midsummer of Love(2009), that critics hailed as funny drama comedy.

I only wished that the makers of this film had seen Ogifta par - En film som skiljer sig (1997), Adam & Eva (1997) or why not Bergmans old classic Sommarnattens leende/Smiles of a Summer Night (1955).

Had they seen these films they may have been finding a better balance between the comedy and drama bits in this film. Future viewers have been warned, watch with caution.

An Abomination

[Jezperse · 2/10 · 20 July 2010]

From the very first scene you get the odd feeling that something is off. And from there on it gets worse. This movie is sold to the audience as a comedy, but there's not a single comedic moment to be seen. No matter what kind of comedy you're into, it all comes down to timing, which there is none of in this movie.

The movie is directed by a US director and maybe that has something to do with it. Not that US directors are generally worse than Swedish ones, but I get the feeling the director knows little to no Swedish and can't tell a good delivered line from a bad line. Because I refuse to believe they cast a complete ensemble of talentless actors, it must be the directing that is off.

It's cringe worthy to watch and only leaves you with a sad and uncomfortable feeling.

I'll add an extra point to the already low vote simply because the music in this movie is quite nice.

great!

[amccrudden-844-609861 · 8/10 · 14 September 2010]

I just watched this movie with a bunch of my Swedish friends and we had a blast! Being a non-Swede I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as they did, but I totally did. The subtitles didn't bother me, which was a surprise since I tend not to watch foreign movies.

I felt the cast were tight and very easy going. The dialogue simple and got to the point without the expected Swedish delay if you know what I mean. It reminded me of The Big Chill... Sweden looked beautiful and exotic in my eyes. The director has made a funny and sweet movie, nice to see Swedes in a different light than what Bergman shared with us. Thank you, McCrudden, we needed that!

good intentions

[Vincentiu · 25 October 2014]

and nothing more. and the fundamental error is the desire to present a too large story with the necessary tools. result - all is confuse, strange and out of the basic rules for a portrait of a group. the nudity scene or the presence of Luke Perry do not save the story. because it is a not inspired mixture of drama and fake comedy. because the script is chaotic and the possibilities of acting in reasonable manner restricted. because it is a story with so large artistic possibilities who are , by Ian McCrudden, only sketches. and not good ones. a good point - maybe, the music. but it is not easy to say than it is enough. only virtue - the search of viewer imagination for a better story and a more inspired script.

Feel like a Swede for 90 minutes

[rebecca-stjernberg · 9/10 · 17 October 2010]

I have to disagree with "An Abomination". Just because the movie has depth doesn't make it less of a comedy. There are quite a few truly funny scenes well suited for a comedy. The movie also has another, more serious, side to it which I find really appealing. It is not hard to find at least one character you recognize yourself in, for good or worse... :) I am usually more of an action-movie-kind-of-a-girl but this comedy really hit the mark for me. It makes you feel happy, sad, embarrassed (sometimes you recognize sides of yourself you don't want to acknowledge), and then happy again one minute later. All in all, I really like it, and as a bonus it has my kind of ending. I would definitely recommend it, above all to Swedes living abroad who miss their friends and the Swedish summer. If they watch this movie they would feel like home for 90 minutes. Now finally I have to agree with "An Abomination", the music is great!

bizarre

[Kirpianuscus · 22 June 2016]

one of films saved by the flavor of memories about it. because it propose a large puzzle and so many scenes , a Swedish tradition, few drops of Shakespeare, nudity, marriage crisis and Luke Perry as a kind of guest. and, like each film from the same recipes, the public may explore, at the level of imagination, the possibilities of a better script / acting. it is not exactly a problem of good intentions or artistic errors but the lost of purpose scene by scene. at the end - a summer story about nothing. too dramatic, too full of details, looking the manner to build a coherent story about emotions, expectations and the way to understand the other. all as an improvisation show. but, unfortunately, nothing more.

Surprise

[kevlisaoz · 8/10 · 8 February 2012]

We stumbled across this move and watched expecting to just have to turn it off. We could not.

While the characters start off nearly stereotypical, and shallow, they quickly develop some interesting qualities and become very 'real'. We expected to movie to make certain twists and turns and each time the story took us the other direction making it impossible to not want to see how this turned out. Rarely do we laugh out loud at the same dialogue - and we did in this movie.

In the end, a very real story about life, love, friendship, and moving forward.