WFG RATING: A

A Loud Pictures production in association with 1981 Films Production. Written, directed, and edited by Blake Calhoun. Produced by Blake Calhoun and Joey Stewart. Cinematography by Ross Lawrence.

Stars Presley Richardson, Julian Hilliard, Kennedy Celeste, Brad Leland, Jennifer Griffin, Arianne Martin, and Brandon Potter.

A teenager comes of age in this nostalgic trip to the early 1980s that’s sure to attract nostalgia fans and perhaps a new generation of fans. 

13-year-old Casey has been going through a lot while living in Dallas. Her parents have divorced and she has a mixtape that she is nearly done with. She only needs one more song left as her mother decides to bring her to her grandparents’ house to spend the summer. Her mom is heading on a vacation with her boyfriend and Casey isn’t exactly thrilled about going to a small town. 

Upon her arrival, Casey immediately feels out of place. However, getting to know the town, she runs into Craig, a 12-year-old who loves Rush and wrestling. Casey also meets local Carrie and the two bonds as well. While she gets used to the town and the fact her mother decides to spend the whole summer with her boyfriend instead of two weeks, Casey has one thing in mind. She wants to finish the mixtape and will do what it takes to get the last song she so ever desires. 

If there is one thing I am a sucker for, it’s coming-of-age films set in a decade where I grew up, the 1980s. This film from Blake Calhoun, set in the summer of 1981, is a fun film about a 13-year-old girl who learns to adapt to being with her grandparents and finds herself determined to finish the mixtape she has been working on and attempt to get that one song left. She overcomes adversity by dealing with the fallout of her parents’ divorce, adapting to a small town, and having two friends she can rely on while dealing with her mother deciding to stay in Europe for the summer.

Presley Richardson brings an amazing performance as the titular Casey, who breaks the fourth wall as a means to give her inner thoughts and narration. We see her adapting to spending the summer in a small Texas town with her maternal grandparents. At first, she is clearly uncomfortable with the new environment, that is until she makes her first friend is 12-year-old rock and wrestling fan Craig, played with natural chemistry by Julian Hilliard. It is when she meets Kennedy Celeste’s Carrie that she finally begins to feel at home. While she is disappointed that her mother ditched her for the whole summer instead of two weeks, she finds Craig and Carrie as the shoulders she needs while slowly bonding with her grandparents. 

Throughout the film, in between Casey’s coming-of-age and feeling comfortable with her new environment, she has one thing clearly in mind. She attempts to constantly call the local radio station and request the one song she desperately needs to finish her mixtape. The song in question is The Police’s “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”. Nostalgia fans will enjoy the film’s musical references to many of the classic rock bands, including Rush, Journey, Santana, Van Halen, and more. It is all and in a fun tale that is sure to bring back memories of those who grew in quite frankly, one of the greatest decades ever. 

Casey Makes a Mixtape will definitely yell nostalgia, especially 1980s music fans. It has a sense of realism, natural chemistry among the young cast, and an excellent lead performance by Presley Richardson. 

The film is available on Digital today (October 14).