Colin Jost’s Staten Island Summer. Did They Get it Right?

Thank you, Colin Jost! With Staten Island Summer, America can finally see that “Gym-Tan-Laundry” is not, in fact, the motto of the place I was born and raised. What a thrill to watch a film that depicts the Island in a realistic way. And what better setting than the summer, by the pool? The place where some of my favorite memories of childhood reside. I imagine this is also true for Colin, which would explain the valentine to our hometown he has created.

“I grew up in Staten Island” is both the first words we hear from the central character in Staten Island Summer and a statement of fact about me. Only, I would have said “I grew up on Staten Island”. But that’s part of the age-old argument many of us from The Forgotten Borough will have from time to time. I write “forgotten” because as many films as there are that take place in New York, it’s rare to see Staten Island featured. So rare, in fact, that my father always made it a point of gathering us to watch them when such a unicorn did present itself, like with Rodney Dangerfield’s Easy Money. Then there was the swell of pride felt when we learned that the opening wedding scenes in The Godfather were shot on Staten Island. As were some shots featured in Goodfellas, which every Staten Islander will point out to you if you make the mistake of watching said film with them. And while there have been a few indie films that captured the Island in a realistic, non-Jersey Shore way, for the most part Staten Island has been used as a punch line. Case in point, Working Girl, the most famous of all the films to depict Staten Island by name, showed us as bad-grammar-using, heavy-accent-wielding, garish-make-up-wearing cartoons. Staten Island was the place to leave behind.

So, it was with some trepidation that I watched Staten Island Summer. Not certain what sort of experience Colin Jost, Saturday Night Live’s head writer and Weekend Update anchor and Staten Island Summer scribe, had while growing up in my hometown, I was concerned that my childhood memories would have their heart stomped. Just like Tess stomped Mick’s heart in Working Girl. My fears were assuaged, however, with the opening voiceover narration. We are told, correctly, that Staten Island is the love child of Brooklyn and New Jersey. And we are shown Staten Island. Not just the Staten Island everyone thinks of- the crowded together houses and strip malls. No. We are also shown the Staten Island that is more difficult to make fun of and therefore seldom seen- the boardwalk, the farm houses, and the amazing views. Finally, I saw a version of Staten Island that was actually familiar to me. The good and the bad, the silly and the profound. I saw a real place and not a caricature.

Okay, I thought. Good start, Jost. You’re not making fun of us out of the gate. Which, quite frankly, would have been an easy and expected way to go. But wait- what’s this? The lead character, Danny, is heading for the Great Kills Swim Club? The very place that I spent almost every day of almost every summer as a kid? Apparently Danny did as well. So I held my breath and waited. Waited to see what they’ve done to my memories.

Right off the bat, I smiled as I saw that the name wasn’t changed to something more “cinematic”. Nope, the GKSC was still the Great Kills Swim Club. And I’ll be damned if it didn’t look just as it does in my memories, as well as old pictures. I thought for a minute that perhaps the movie was taking place during the era of my childhood, since I didn’t see any evidence of texting. However a reference to The Dark Knight Returns’ Bane answered the question of the time period fairly quickly. The only answer, then, is that the Colin Jost got it right. He captured the exact feel that I remembered. That home away from home, where you felt safe because everyone knew you and was looking out for you, evidenced in the movie by the group of women playing cards together, talking about Danny and his future. Although in my time those women played Mahjong and not cards, they sat in that exact same spot upstairs- in the shade, overlooking the pool but never taking a dip themselves. At the same time, you felt like you were breaking away from the confines of your family, evidenced in the movie by Danny hanging out with the other lifeguards, only seeing his parents at night. I was flooded with good feelings and memories while watching Staten Island Summer. Seeing the First Aid room where I was rushed when a piece of glass pierced through my sneaker. Swim practice and meets. My big summer crush. That first year I realized could fill out my swimsuit like the older girls did. Riding my bike to the Swim Club and hanging out with friends. Not realizing that the rest of the world saw us as a stereotype, because that’s not how we saw ourselves.

So, I thank Colin Jost for Staten Island Summer. For showing the world the real Staten Island, and the real people that inhabit it. For staying true to what he experienced himself and not making a mockery of our hometown. And most selfishly, for not stomping on my memories. Because that would have been the easy thing to do.

Check out our coverage of the Staten Island Summer Red Carpet Movie Premiere Here!

Read more comedy news, stories, interviews with comedians, videos and comedy clips on our home page. Get more comedy news. Watch more viral videos. Read more interviews with the best comics in the business.

.