The Santa Barbara International Film Festival had a first today. The Applebox section, consisting of family-oriented fare, had never before featured a film which was so popular that people had to be turned away at the door. It happened this morning with "A Plumm Summer." First-time director and screenwriter Caroline Zelder's gem of a film recounts a true incident in 1968 when Froggy Doo, a popular children's character on local Montana television, went missing. The show's host, Happy Herb (Happy Days' Henry Winkler), fears that his beloved puppet has been kidnapped. Amateur detectives Eliott Plumm (14-year-old Chris Kelly, scene-stealer #1) and his little brother Rocky (Owen Pearce, scene-stealer #2) are determined to find Froggy Doo before the F.B.I. bungles the case (watch for Peter Scolari as a hapless agent). William Baldwin is frighteningly real as the down-on-his-luck father, and Jeff Daniels' voice-over as the present-day Elliott was a treat. Brenda Strong and Lisa Guerrero are other actors of note who jumped at the chance to participate in this little indie after reading Zelder's sweet script. Much of the cast and crew were present for a Q&A, which was as fun and delightful as the film itself. Far too few films like this are being made, and "A Plumm Summer" is a reminder of just how good they can be.
Review of A Plumm Summer
