There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

This was a movie I had watched many times at my uncle's house during Easter or Thanksgiving family gatherings over the years...decades ago. So when I had seen that it was on demand for free on my TV today, I thought-"Why not?" As much as I like the movie, certain things just really bothered me about certain aspects of it. Even back then to this day. Kevin Bacon swears on his methods, yet is pretty reckless as a supposed mentor of the kids he takes on this trip. He teaches "Survival",yet punishes a great survival tactic (because he felt upstaged). Yes I understand the arguments of "teaching his way" and "listen to authority"...even his "don't destroy the wilderness" philosophy. For him to endanger the lives of these kids whose parents have trusted him just from a single slide-show of what they'll be going through is just irresponsible of them, and I don't know one single parent who would agree to such a thing.....but then we wouldn't have this movie now, would we? After many years of not seeing this,and seeing it one more time I have to say I still like it though. Definitely a good 80's flick to catch if you get a chance.

This is a response to the reviewers questioning Vick's motives. As a city boy who loves the outdoors, I totally understood where Kevin Bacon's character was coming from, though, he was clearly a nut-job for the most part. In my experience, city boys (i.e. Sean Astin's character) cannot find value in the wilderness for the life of them, and obtaining a cellphone signal is their top priority at all times. This movie is about taking a break from our technology-infused world and getting back to the basics. The wilderness is a wonderful, rugged place that can really broaden anyone's perspective on life. It's about facing fears head-on and living to tell about it -- those are the experiences that you remember in life. I wish everyone would share these sentiments, as Vick probably does in this movie. But Vick's major fault is failing to realize that people cannot be forced to enjoy something that's unfamiliar and frightening to them. He feels he can get through to them but uses some extreme means and acts like a huge ass in the process.

I caught this movie on an indy movie channel on TV, and it grabbed my attention. It is obvious that the movie is what can be called an "80's movie" because of the haircuts and slang dialogue. We know Sean Austin in the new millennium as Sam in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I was impressed that Sean pulls off "White Water Summer" at the tender age of 15 - not bad! OK, I MUST allude to the symbology or underlying intentions of the flick. There is quite a homosexual tone to the photography, as REALLY short shorts are common attire, and hugging/closeness between the four boys and Vic is interesting. Swinging in and out of each other's arms, the way to see it clearly is to watch the film anticipating the cloak of sexuality. But that's fine - it doesn't affect the OTHER, more important intent. Vic challenges the boys to survive. And they pass without knowing the lesson to be learned from passing. It is frustrating to watch Vic go so far as to let a boy die or let him save himself... and them STILL not getting that them saving themselves was the real reason behind Vic leaving the boy behind. I recommend this movie as a quintessential R-rated tough-teen 80's movie.... maybe "Streets of Fire" and "Roadhouse" are good companions. \classicalloy

The last time that I saw white water summer was in August of 2003.After that I have not seen it on cable which has upset me because I loved that movie.It is on my top 5 all time favorite movie.What got me into this movie is imagining that you were allan and the thrill you had to go through crossing that terrifying bridge by yourself and then being forced to cross it again to get the tent poles but with night approaching.The bond between the four guys to survive during the storm was also am excellent piece.But the best part in the movie for me was when allan caught the fishes but not using nature method.This made vick upset and left him on the islet alone for a night and ordered him to gut and clean the fishes. I am originally from Trinidad and I went to the states for a vacation and was hugely disappointed when I searched for the movie but to no avail.I checked major DVD outlets and flee markets.I hope that they can air the movie on cable ,because thats the only way that I can see it.