52
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75IndieWireIndieWireAn affectionate love letter to a bygone era of growing up, Ping Pong Summer brims with specific pop culture minutiae, making it easy to assume the movie has been intended as a farce, but it has more going on beneath the surface.
- 75Slant MagazineGlenn Heath Jr.Slant MagazineGlenn Heath Jr.A heartfelt retro flashback littered with pop-culture iconography and much slang, it focuses on the importance of friendship and loyalty rather than social standing.
- 70Village VoiceKatherine VuVillage VoiceKatherine VuIt's a throwback film in both style and sentiment, and what it lacks in depth, it make up for with warmth.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyEntertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyThe film coasts on its time-capsule fetishism and affable supporting turns from Susan Sarandon and Lea Thompson, but it never achieves the emotional punch of like-minded comedies such as "Adventureland" and "The Way, Way Back."
- It's gawky and awkward, but just like Rad's breakdancing worm, this one gets better as it goes along.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweThe Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweRose-tinted as the film’s perspective may be, Ping Pong Summer is still a lingering, entertaining glance back at an era that Americans just can’t seem to get enough of, whether in music or movies.
- 60New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierThis sweet, offhanded but lovingly observed remembrance is a real kick. It takes us back to the way things used to be, especially for 13-year-old guys, and specifically in the arcade rooms of 1985, filled with upright video games with glowing screens and big-haired girls in neon.
- 50New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickCertainly nails the era, right down to a lengthy pan across a none-too-appealing dinner buffet.
- 40Time OutTime OutGranted, there’s something charming here — Ping Pong Summer itself feels like an underdog — and there are retro touches that children of the ’80s will smile at (remember smelling the liner notes of cassettes?). But ultimately, those are too few and far between.
- 30Film.comCalum MarshFilm.comCalum MarshWe all have childhoods to remember. Art needs to do more than just remind us.