THOSE SUMMER GIRLS I NEVER MET

Drew Wingate feels as if his big summer plans have been blown out of the water but finds instead that they've just changed course. School's out, Drew's 16th birthday is coming up, and he's all set to get his driver's license and "start bagging babes." Unfortunately, his all-but-forgotten Grandmother Connie whisks him and his 14-year-old sister (Stephanie-the-Bullhorn) away on an involuntary two-week cruise around the Baltic. The laughs come thick and fast as Drew's adjustment to the carefree shipboard routine and geriatric passengers is facilitated by a bevy of dazzling exotic dancers who "adopt" him. He learns to regard Grandmother Connie, a famous singer of the Big Band era, with respect and affection; she's still colorful and commanding, on stage and off. But the story takes a somber turn when Drew and Steph realize that Connie sent for them because she's dying and had hoped to pick up some of the pieces of her scattered, estranged family. As always, Peck mixes humor and pathos expertly. The setting isn't well-realized: both ship and ports of call come across as painted backdrops; but the lively cast more than compensates.