Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Summer Rental Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 28, 2025

Carl Reiner's "Summer Rental" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new program with Matthew Chojnacki and Jake Lamme; new audio commentary by critic Joe Ramoni; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Floridian neighbors are different.

Only four years separate Summer Rental and Uncle Buck, and while both feature a wonderful John Candy, they are very different films. It is true that they are similarly funny and good looking films, and it is also true that if you see and like one of them, you are guaranteed to like the other. However, they are conceived and directed very differently, and when their final credits disappear, it does not feel right to compare them. And yet, this is exactly what I will do because they demonstrate perfectly why Carl Reiner (and countless other directors) could not make the same films John Hughes did.

In Summer Rental, underfed and overworked air traffic controller Jack Chester (Candy), after nearly causing a major disaster, is asked by his boss to get a long break and recharge his batteries. A few days later, Chester, his wife, Sandy (Karen Austin), teenage daughter, Jennifer (Kerri Green), younger son, Bobby (Joey Lawrence), and toddler, Laurie (Aubrey Jene) leave Atlanta and head down to sunny Florida. Despite several minor distractions, they arrive on time and unpack their bags in a gorgeous house Chester has rented for an entire month. Everyone agrees that Chester could not have done any better, ensuring they will have a terrific time. But just hours later, the owner of the gorgeous house and his family return from their vacation, and Chester is informed that he and his family are not where they need to be, a rundown shack next to the entrance most everyone around these parts uses to access the beach.

After relocating to their new home away from home, Chester and his family remain positive, but a horrible experience at a local seafood restaurant quickly convinces them that Florida hospitality is not as described in tourist brochures. Nevertheless, instead of cutting their vacation short and heading back to Atlanta, they choose to stay and, like professional basketball players, begin waiting for the good times to come to them. Not too long after that, much to everyone’s delight, their new strategy begins producing results. Chester injures his leg and gets sunburned, but a friendly neighbor takes her swimsuit top off and asks him to tell her whether the several thousand dollars her husband has paid for silicon enhancements have made a positive difference. Chester’s wife attracts the attention of the local lifeguards and their teenage daughter finds a new boyfriend. Chester’s son also sees his dream of sailing with his father come true. Sensing that Lady Luck has temporarily befriended his family, Chester then decides to roll the dice in a way that surprises everyone. He challenges Al Pellet (Richard Crenna), a local millionaire whose ego is as big as the Grand Canyon, who has purchased the rundown shack and wants his family out, in a duel, which would be the annual regatta. If Chester wins, he earns a nice vacation extension and pockets the regatta’s cash prize. When Pellet accepts the challenge, Chester asks restaurant owner Scully (Rip Torn) to modify his floating restaurant, an ancient boat, and quickly teach him how to win the regatta.

Despite being surrounded by good actors that handle their parts quite well, Candy is the catalyst of everything that makes Summer Rental an enjoyable film. These actors recognize this development and most of the time it is quite easy to tell that they feed off of his performance.

However, every single character in Summer Rental remains a performer. Reiner follows these characters through different situations where they do things to impress an audience that is always fully aware that they are part of an act. This act is much bigger than its characters. In Hughes’ films, the opposite is true. The characters are authentic and bigger than the act, which is the crucial development that allows them to connect with the audience in various special, long-lasting ways.

Summer Rental Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Summer Rental arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K makeover, struck from the film's original camera negative and finalized at Paramount. This 4K makeover is a very, very nice, but not quite in the same league with the one that was prepared for Uncle Buck at Universal. Why? Because it retains some small age-related imperfections that a proper 4K restoration would have eliminated. For example, in a few areas I spotted small chemical stains and even extremely light fading. However, everything else is easy to describe as very good or excellent. For example, all visuals have a terrific, very attractive organic appearance, and on a large screen look quite spectacular. Grain exposure is good, though this is the only other area where I feel that a few encoding optimizations would have made a meaningful difference. There are no traces of any digital anomalies. Color reproduction and balance are as good as I hoped they will be. All primaries and supporting nuances look very healthy and are wonderfully balanced. Only during the regatta footage, which has the spots with the light fading, their consistency is not optimal. Image stability is excellent. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Summer Rental Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

It is easy to tell that the audio has been remastered because even though Summer Rental does not have any impressive action material, in several areas, there are wonderful dynamic contrasts. The music sounds nicely rounded and sharp, too. All exchanges are very clear, stable, and easy to follow. I did not encounter any distortions, hiss, crackle, pops, or other similar anomalies to report in our review.

Summer Rental Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Ear Candy: The Music of Summer Rental - in this new program, Matthew Chojnacki and Jake Lamme, representing Rusted Wave Record and 1984 Publishing, explain how they managed to release the soundtrack of Summer Rental on LP and CD, as well as what makes it special. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Commentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, critic Joe Ramoni shares a lot of information about the genesis of Summer Rental (with interesting comments about Paramount's involvement with it), its short production, John Candy's "first proper role", the visual style of the film, Alan Silvestri's soundtrack, the film's reception, etc.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Summer Rental. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Summer Rental Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Before Summer Rental, John Candy had appeared in several big and very successful films. However, he was not the main attraction there. Candy is the main attraction in Summer Rental, and while not yet in top form, he is already very good and impacting positively the work of everyone else around him. Candy fans and especially completists will be very happy with Kino Lorber's release of Summer Rental. It introduces a wonderful exclusive new 4K makeover, completed at Paramount Pictures. RECOMMENDED.