Summer House – As the first episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty begins, Belly (Lola Tung) says her family has been going to the summer house in Cousin every summer since she was a baby. She counts the days until she is in that house. Although the dads come to visit, it is not their place. They don’t belong there like the mothers and kids do. The summer house is made up of lots of things, including the beach, the swimming pool late at night, and movie nights with the moms. The boys were most of all. Later, Belly’s friend tells her that Drew Martinez is texting about her. Belly doesn’t think he cares about her and only wants to talk to her friend. She pleads with Taylor (Rain Spencer) to take this game against the boys seriously since team pride is on the line.

Taylor tells her not to bring the speedo since it does nothing for her new boobs. As they play around, Laurel (Jackie Chung) yells that they’re going to leave in the next ten minutes. Taylor wants to know Belly’s summer wish. Belly says she doesn’t know, but Taylor doesn’t believe her. Taylor believes she wants a hot make-out session with Conrad since she has been in love with him since she was 12. Belly doesn’t think Conrad sees her that way although Taylor thinks he will. She looks a lot different than she did last summer. Belly admits it is like coming home after you’ve been gone for a long time. Laurel tells her son Steven (Sean Kaufman) that she’d like to see him be more useful this summer and not leave dishes in the sink.

He reminds her that Susannah has people who clean. Belly says her mom is weird about money and the fact Susannah Fisher has a lot while they do not. Laurel asks them to be considerate and not stay out too late. Belly asks about her curfew. Steven doesn’t know why it matters because she never goes anywhere. Belly reminds Steve that he promised to take her driving. When her mom offers, she admits she is too “judgey”. They stop at a convenience store as the boy behind the counter says hello to Belly. She admits the boys usually pay attention to Taylor and don’t focus on her. He asks if she is new this summer. Although she says no, the clerk thought he knew every pretty girl in Cousins. He invites her to the bonfire tonight which is the first of the season.

Laurel asks her daughter if she wants to go to Whale of a Tale with her after they get settled so she can pre-sign stock before tomorrow night’s signing. Once Belly gets back into the vehicle, she puts her hair down. They reach Cousins Beach before heading to the Fisher house. Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) runs out to greet them and Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) follows him. Conrad (Christopher Briney) locks eyes with Belly when he comes out. He walks over and says he liked her better with glasses. Belly says that is too bad because she likes it better without them. After he messes up her hair, Steve says it is time for a belly flop. They grab Belly, carry her around back, and throw her into the pool. She pretends she hurt her ankle to pull Conrad into the water with her.

She tells him to let go before Conrad splashes water in her face. As Isabel goes inside, her mom complains that she is dripping water all over the place. Susannah tells her mother that she is gorgeous. She tells Belly that she is in bloom. She claims she looks just like her mother when they first met although Laurel jokes that she didn’t have boobs. Laurel tells her daughter to call her dad so he’ll know they got her okay before she confirms he’ll be coming for the Fourth. He didn’t come last summer because they had just gotten divorced. Mr. Fisher is in London since they’ve got him coming and going. Jeremiah joins Belly in her room later and admits he can’t believe she still has her bear named Junior Mint. He convinces her to go swimming with him.

Laurel learns that her daughter has ditched her for the ocean. Susannah agrees to go with her, but they’ll have to stop by the country club to check on the catering for Laurel’s party. Isabel asks Jeremiah if it is weird that her father is coming up on the Fourth. He says her mom is cool because she doesn’t care. Isabel explains that her mom wanted the divorce in the first place. Her dad has a new girlfriend and beard now. They play in the water. Laurel learns they’re all set for her party tomorrow night. She says her publishers didn’t send her on tour for this book so it has been a pretty quiet release.

Susannah tells them they’re going to need more than 20 copies since she invited half the town. Mika (April Billingsley) is told she might have to visit the Barnes & Noble in Portsmouth to get more while Laurel complains it was supposed to be a small event. Laurel begins mocking another Arthur named Cleveland Castillo (Alfredo Narciso) and his glasses. He shows up behind Laurel and says contacts irritate his eyes. Once he leaves, Laurel learns he is renting the Burke house all summer. During dinner, Laurel and Susannah ask the kids whether it can be a screen-free zone. Jeremiah snatches Steven’s phone and throws it elsewhere. As they begin arguing, Belly insists Jeremiah has a better body than Steven. Then, Jeremiah reveals that Conrad quit football.

Although Susannah says he can always change his mind, Conrad says he won’t. Steven suggests he can work at the club with him and Jeremiah this summer, but Conrad doesn’t want to do that. Jeremiah is lifeguarding while Steven is working the snack shop. Susannah gives Belly a surprise which ends up being an invitation to be a debutante. She explains it is when a girl comes of age and is presented to society. Susannah says she’ll have fun and make many friends even though Laurel can’t believe she is hanging onto this archaic dream. Conrad claims the whole scene is for sheep. Susannah says it is a formal recognition that a girl has reached maturity. Steven finds it funny that his sister could be mature after she made them have a cat funeral not too long ago. She fires back by reminding him that he was trying in his room.

Jeremiah apologizes once he learns that Mochi died. Laurel doesn’t think it is Belly’s thing since she is their feral little alley cat. Isabel agrees to think about it. Later, Laurel asks her daughter how many followers is a lot on Instagram. Once Belly looks at it, she says Taylor’s dad was reading this book. 150,000 followers is a lot, especially for a writer. Isabel steps outside and finds Conrad smoking pot near the pool. She reminds him what he said about marijuana destroying white matter before he asks if she memorizes everything he says. Belly tells him to get over himself. Conrad explains that he said a lot of stuff, but he isn’t an athlete anymore. When she says she thinks he should quit, Conrad asks what she’ll give him if he does.

She says nothing although he should quit for himself. Conrad doesn’t know why she is considering the debutante thing because it isn’t her. He doesn’t think she should let his mom make her a little doll just because she never had a daughter. Belly doesn’t mind it and sometimes wishes she was Susannah’s daughter, but Conrad thinks she is better off with Laurel. She tries to find out what is going on since he is acting so differently. Before he can say anything, the others come out and interrupt.  The boys leave for the first bonfire while Belly stays for movie night with the moms. Back inside, Belly asks whether they can do something else. She claims she is tired and wants to go to bed. Once she goes to her room, she calls Taylor who is going to a show. Belly tells her that it felt different when she was talking to Conrad by the pool.

Taylor learns about the guy who invited her to the bonfire and encourages Isabel to go too. She tells her to go to the bonfire and let Conrad see her looking cute. She gifted her a secret weapon in her duffel bag. Isabel doesn’t want to wear it because you’ll be able to see her underwear under it. Taylor recommends wearing a thong. He reminds her that nothing is going to happen if she stays in her room. Belly doesn’t like the idea of wearing a thong because it is unhygienic. She eventually agrees to go through. Once she reaches the beach, she tells herself she is going to kill Taylor.

She is approached by the guy from the gas station who offers her a beer. Isabel yells for Steven. He asks what she is wearing and tells the gas station guy that she is 15. Isabel says she is almost 16. Steven and Isabel get into an argument until she calls on the ground and spots Conrad with another girl. She tells him she thought he hated the Red Sox. Nicole (Summer Madison) reveals her name before saying she went to the deb ball with Conrad last summer. She reminds Conrad that he said debs were sheep. He calls her a brat while she calls him an a-hole. Jeremiah says they can hang out now that Belly is there. He tells Steven to hang out with Shayla (Minnie Mills). Back at home, Laurel and Susannah smoke weed together.

Susannah thought Connie might’ve smiled when they threw Belly in the pool early. He was in a better mood today for the first time since he broke up with Aubrey. He has been in such a bad mood and that is unlike him. Conrad quit football a couple of weeks ago. He only played to please Adam. Susannah is going to let him out of his space and do his thing. Laurel wonders if it is time for her to talk to him, but Susannah says there is nothing to talk about. Susannah just wants to have a good summer like they planned to. She makes sure Laurel knows that her office is all set up for her. Laurel isn’t worried about her book right now since it is a midlist book and has barely been selling. She wonders if she should’ve written about the Asian American experience whatever that is.

When Laurel mentions Cleveland’s Instagram followers, Susannah recommends putting herself out there more. Susannah really believes she should let Belly have a deb season. Although Laurel says they’re problematic, Susannah wants to see their girl in a white dress. Laurel says okay even though she doesn’t think Isabel will go through with it. Susannah tells her that people change. They don’t because they’re immovable objects. Belly is approached by a guy calling himself Sextus from 7th grade Latin convention. She remembers the guy who says his real name is Cam (David Iacono). He can’t believe he can’t remember seeing her around here. After he gives her his hoodie, she asks whether everyone saw her fall earlier. She tells him that none of the guys is her boyfriend. Cam is glad she came because he did not want to come.

He knew it’d be a bunch of kids getting drunk and he doesn’t like drinking. Since his mom works at the country club, he knows many of the kids. When she asks about the debutante thing, Cam says it is steeped in the patriarchy, but it isn’t total garbage. It also has a big fundraiser and Elizabeth Warren showed up last year. Belly is giddy to see his picture with Warren. Cam admits he has to leave because he is interning on a whale-watching boat and must be up early. When Conrad nearly gets into a fight, Belly gets involved and gets knocked to the ground. They all run away when the police show up. Cam offers to give Isabel a ride home later that night, but Jeremiah won’t let her go with him. Before she goes, Cam invites her on the whaling boat and she says yes.

Isabel tells herself that this could be her summer wish so she kisses the boy. Jeremiah has to stop the car to go back for Steven. While they’re alone, Conrad tells Belly her hair is like a little kid’s the way it is always so messy. A cop knocks on the window before taking them home where Laurel promises it won’t happen again. After the cops leave, Steven insists it wasn’t a big deal since the cops just wanted to break up the bonfire. He also suspects her mother has been smoking. Jeremiah says he didn’t drink because he was the DD tonight. Laurel turns her attention to Belly and scolds her for walking that far down the beach. She tells her to act like an adult. Conrad thinks they should do that too. Laurel argues that the night could’ve ended differently if it was another family instead of the Fisher family.

When they’re alone, Laurel tells Conrad that she doesn’t understand what is going on with him. He says nothing. Later, Laurel gets on Instagram while her daughter texts Taylor. She looks at the invitation and says thinks change whether you like it or not so maybe she’ll change too. She decides to accept it. Then, she joins Conrad on the beach and discusses last night. She asks whether he remembers everything that happened last night since he was pretty wasted. He claims he remembers everything when he drinks. He lights a joint and refuses to give her a puff. She says he can’t smoke if she can’t. Con suggests picking up some of the good muffins before everyone else gets up. Belly thought this summer would be the same, but it isn’t because she won’t let it be. She runs off to see the whales.

 

The Summer I Turned Pretty Review

The first episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty was an okay opener without anything revolutionary setting it apart from similar teenage romance dramas. The show is attempting to capture the magic of the teenage years and the romance that is often involved. The performances were mostly decent although no one shined more than the rest. The television series is vastly different from the books.

It is going to take some time to develop a relationship with the characters, but Jeremiah is a bright spot right now. Certain parts of the dialogue were cheesy and unrealistic to the point that it really takes away from the realism of the series. It is just silly to suggest that 15-year-olds are going to be discussing politics and politicians like they’re celebrities.

This could be a problem with the target audience. The episode had many adult themes making it difficult to recommend to younger audiences and the political discussion gears it toward adults. Viewers may have difficulty building relationships with the characters because they’re so fortunate and flawed by cliches. While the first episode wasn’t outstanding, there are glimpses of magic beneath the surface.

With time, this could become a fantastic teenage romance and coming-of-age tale. It will take a few more episodes to find out whether it raises about mediocrity. The first episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Summer I Turned Pretty can be found on Reel Mockery here. Would you like to support our work? Find out how to do so at this link. Thanks for coming!