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How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Release Date 11 May 2012 11 Oct 2012

  • User rating
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
  • Critic rating
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.

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Certificate:

Genre: Action | Adventure | Drama

It’s been a bad day for Driver (Gibson) and it’s not getting any better. He just made a big haul of millions that would give him a nice summer vacation on easy street. A good idea that went south – literally. During a high-speed car chase with the US Border Patrol, and a bleeding body in his back seat, Driver flips his car smashing through the border wall, tumbling violently, coming to a stop … in Mexico. Apprehended by the Mexican authorities, he is sent to a hard-core prison where he enters the strange and dangerous world of “El Pueblito”, the worst prison in all of Mexico. Not an easy place for an outsider such as Driver to survive, unless it’s with the help of someone who knows the ropes - a 10 year-old kid.

Cast:
Mel Gibson | Peter Stormare | Dean Norris | Bob Gunton

Writers:
Mel Gibson

Producers:

Directors:
Adrian Grunberg

  • Critic rating
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.

Movies.ie Critic Review

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION (USA/16/95mins)

Directed by Adrian Grunberg. Starring Mel Gibson, Kevin Hernandez, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Dolores Heredia, Peter Gerety, Peter Stormare.

THE PLOT: Opening with a grindhouse-worthy car chase, we’re introduced to a man known simply as Driver (Gibson) as he speeds his way to the Mexican border, stolen cash and clown mask both present and correct. It’s the cash that saves this gringo from being handed over by the upstanding Mexican police force, choosing instead to send the latest American fugitive to the large, overcrowded prison El Pueblito instead. A city unto itself, El Pueblito is a challenge that Driver has to take on slowly at first, aided and abetted by a 10-year old boy (Hernandez)…

THE VERDICT: Called Get The Gringo in the US – where it’s going straight to VOD – the fact that Mel Gibson’s latest offering isn’t all that bad (think Man On Fire with lots of moustaches, and Peckinpah on producing duties) hardly matters. Because, as we all know, Mel Gibson is a raving loon. And there are plenty of recordings now to prove it. So, the hugely arrogant asshole (and I say that having tried to interview the man on more than one occasion) is box-office poison right now. Now, if only there’s some way that he can drag Russell Crowe down with him… RATING: 2/5

Review by Paul Byrne 

  • Avg User rating
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.

User Reviews

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    vu1999uk

    Enjoyable action comedy with Mel Gibson putting in a great performance with plenty of funny lines. Not to mention a pitch perfect impression of Clint Eastwood.

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    filmbuff2011

    How I Spent My Summer Vacation sees Mel Gibson back onscreen doing what he does best - playing tough, wired and off-kilter. He plays Driver, a thief who gets caught right on the US-Mexican border. The getaway money is re-appropriated by two corrupt Mexican cops, who then throw Driver in a grubby, open-plan Mexican prison where he has to learn how to adapt in order to survive. When his boss comes looking for the missing money, a whole series of events kick in culminating in some well-staged and often humourous set-pieces. Given his recent headline-making offscreen behaviour, it's easy to forget what a good actor Gibson is and it wouldn't be amiss for audiences to cut him some slack. He's very good here in a sweaty, gritty cross-border action film that takes some strange turns here and there. It's an odd film at times and the plot seems somewhat unlikely. Gibson even does a not-very-convincing impression of Clint Eastwood in one scene. Maybe he should have got a lesson or two from Kurt Russell. Worth a look.

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