Bummer Summer

Seattle has been slow to embrace the movie-plus-booze formula one finds in other cities. But Northwest Film Forum is now joining the trend with a new liquor license (beer and wine only), which goes into effect tonight with the premiere of Olympia director Zach Weintraub’s worthwhile indie road movie Bummer Summer. Shot in black-and-white, the film isn’t exactly boring, but a pint might help you relax into its languorous rhythm. (Yes, that’s a polite way of saying it’s slow; and there are no car chases or gunfights to punctuate its 80 minutes.) Two brothers drive off in search of a garden maze, accompanied the ex-girlfriend of elder brother Ben (Weintraub), who’s back from college. Naturally he wants to sleep with her again, but Lila mocks “Mr. On the Road” and his “romantic ideal of a road trip.” Meanwhile, 17-year-old Isaac watches from the wings—maybe he’s got a chance with her? The love triangle never really catches fire, and there are many conversations with very few words. But Weintraub has a nice feel for low-key naturalism, letting the trio cavort on terraced sand dunes, as the sexual tension dissipates in the coastal fog. (NR) BRIAN MILLER

April 22-28, 7 & 9 p.m., 2011