| “ | I know that we can't be together right now, but it makes me smile to know that our flowers are growing under the same sun. I will never forget this summer, and the love that we shared. | „ |
| ~ Sage in her letter to Tony. |
| “ | I just wanna try to stay in one place for once. Try what it feels like to be... I'm gonna say it. (Kate: No.) (Gillian: Honey, no, don't you dare.) Normal! | „ |
| ~ Sage explaining her desire for a normal life to her moms. |
Sage is the main female protagonist of Zeno Mountain Farm's first feature-length film, Best Summer Ever, and the 2016 play that inspired it. She is a spunky teenage girl raised by drug dealers who aspires to find a new home and reconnect with her boyfriend Tony Michaels.
She is played by Shannon DeVido.
Biography[]
Sage is the sixteen-year-old daughter of two cannabis dealers. Because she and her family have spent their days traveling around the country selling medicinal weed, she has spent her days being homeschooled.
Sage is first introduced playing the keyboard as her boyfriend Tony Michaels practices his dance moves at Lakeview Dance Camp. When the camp season comes to an end, the two lovers celebrate their time together. The next day, as they bid their last goodbye for the summer, Sage gives Tony a package of sunflower seeds while he gives her his eagle necklace. The two of them part ways, but not before Tony asks her when they can meet again.
Now back on the move selling cannabis, Sage and her mothers, Kate and Gillian pick their next spot, Tennessee. On the way, Sage asks for a cell phone and explains that she wants to settle down in one place, desiring to be "normal" and go to an actual school. When the three of them go to Delaware, she calls Tony, who doesn't answer. The following day, Sage's family's trailer breaks down. Sage notices a sign for Mount Abe High School, sensing the perfect opportunity to get an education. While having dinner with her mothers at a pizza shop, she finds a rental area to settle in. Sage meets Nancy, one of the workers, who goes to the high school.
The following day, Sage goes to high school for the first time, where Nancy greets her and shows her her lockers. However, she is harassed by Cody Humphreys, the school jock. Sage and Nancy ignore him. Nancy tells Sage about the upcoming Homecoming game until Sage begins to tell her about her friend from dance camp. Beth, the school mean girl, taunts Sage, but Nancy comes to her aid.
In the school restroom, Sage tells the other girls, including Nancy, about her wonderful time with her boyfriend. Unfortunately, Beth discovers Tony's necklace and, realizing that Sage and Tony met at the same place, cooks up a scheme that involves destroying their relationship to secure her power. After fracturing Nancy's arm, Beth lies to Sage that Nancy was killed in an accident and recommends she take her place at the cheerleading pep rally. Sage reluctantly accepts the offer.
At the pep rally, the cheerleaders cheer for the Mount Abe Eagles, but Beth humiliates Sage in front of the whole school with a sign that says "MOO!" on it. The football jocks charge in, Tony included. Sage is shocked to see that her friend from dance camp is the same boy. Out of anger, she tosses her cheerleading skirt into the trash. In the library, Sage confronts Tony after he reveals that he faked his resume to Lakeview and was lying to her to get through the summer and cope with his reputation of being the star kicker. Crushed, Sage leaves the school.
Not wanting to go back, Sage feigns illness to stay home but reluctantly returns to Mount Abe under Kate's encouragement. When she gets to school, she notices that Beth put a cowbell on her locker and tosses it aside. In the tool shed in his backyard, Tony reveals to Sage that his coach became his father figure after his parents passed away, football isn't the only thing he's passionate about, and he's scared of being honest with his coach. Sage reveals her secret to Tony, that she and her family are on the move selling weed before showing him a garden of sunflowers she made. After rekindling her bond with her friend, Sage helps Tony prepare for a dance.
When Tony is concerned that Sage is going away, he proposes that the two of them run off together. The next day, Beth threatens to post the pictures she took of the weed on blast if Tony refuses to join her for Homecoming. Not wanting to turn Sage and her family in, Tony goes along with Beth's offer. Feeling betrayed, and in a fit of rage, Sage tears apart her garden. On the day of Homecoming, Beth calls the police about Sage's family's drug dealing in an attempt to get her arrested. Sage, out of revenge, tosses Beth's phone into the toilet. When she arrives home, Officer Gorinsky, the town cop, arrives. Suspecting illegal cannabis farming, he goes in to investigate. When Kate and Gillian arrive, Officer Gorinsky opens the greenhouse door but is fooled after noticing sunflowers that Tony switched with the weed.
Sage finds Tony and encourages him to play in the Homecoming game. She devises a plan to help her friend, and the two of them enter the school. Unfortunately, Sage runs into Beth, who traps her in the hallway by chaining up the doors. Beth confronts her and prepares to lock up the other doors, but Nancy charges to the rescue and pummels her, giving Sage enough time to escape.
Just when it seems like the Mount Abe Eagles are losing the game, Tony arrives on the field. Nancy hooks up Sage's keyboard to a speaker. Sage plays beautiful music and Tony pulls off the dance he's been rehearsing before winning the Homecoming game. As the school celebrates, Sage and her mothers decide to settle down in their new home.
Personality[]
| “ | You are a smart, talented powerhouse of a young lady. And I know you can accomplish absolutely anything you put your mind to. | „ |
| ~ Kate to Sage. |
Sage is a spirited girl who wants to be accepted for who she is. She can be stubborn at times, but she's mostly optimistic and witty. Driven by her love for Tony and her clear sense of right and wrong, Sage is capable of making the best out of a bad situation. She also knows what she wants and when to go after it. Sage is also a rebel like her mothers, staying strong in the face of adversity.
Reception[]
Shannon DeVido's performance received widespread critical acclaim, with many critics calling it the best one in the film.
Quotes[]
| “ | I don't even know you. (Tony: Sage, you know me better than anyone else in the world.) No, I'm looking at a stranger in a football jersey. (Tony: Okay, you're right. I faked my resume to Lakeview. I've never studied in New York. But I had to keep up the lie to get through the summer.) Why would you lie to ME about it? I wouldn't have told anyone. (Tony: I know. I wish I hadn't.) Now that you got caught. (Tony: Sage. You already liked that version of me. Fancy dancer with a scholarship, not some small town jock.) You do NOT get to decide my feelings for me. You don't know that. (Tony: Okay, no, you're right. Let's try it, right now. Hi, I'm Tony Michaels. I love dancing, but I'm so terrified to talk to anybody about it, that I do it privately in the tool shed in the backyard. I come from a town where everyone is so obsessed with breaking this 25-year football curse, and apparently, I'm the only guy to do it.) (Principal Donna Over PA: Do we have a Tony Michaels in the building? The local news wants to interview you before practice. Go, eagles!) Well, you better get to practice. You don't wanna let everyone down. You know what, do me a favor. When you see me in the hallway, just keep pretending you don't know me. You're pretty good at pretending. | „ |
| ~ Sage confronting Tony after finding out that he lied to her in an attempt to stifle his reputation. |
| “ | One more face I’ll just forget
One more call I’ll never make One more moment of regret One more smile that I’ll fake Strange how places come and go But people never really change Feelings that I had before Will never be the same Leave behind The way he felt like home The only love I’ve ever known Leave behind the memories we’ve made The truth he wouldn’t say Oh, I roll these broken roads And leave these twisted signs Yeah, I plant my seeds and hope The sun will one day shine But tears and dreams alone won’t make a garden grow So pack up all my sh-t I’m better off alone! Leave behind The way he felt like home The only love I’ve ever known Leave behind the memories we made The truth he wouldn’t say Leave behind |
„ |
| ~ Sage singing "Leave Behind" to vent her sadness after her argument with Tony. |
| “ | (Tony: Did I ever tell you that my dad and Coach were best friends? Right. Coach was kind of like an uncle to my brother and me, so, you know when my parents d- Anyways. Coach kind of stepped in and helped support us, and it's not that I don't like playing football, that's not it. It's just not the only thing I'm passionate about. And I feel like I woke up one day and I was this football star, and that's all I ever do, and that's never really what I wanted.) Why don't you just tell him? (Tony: Tell him what?) How you feel. What YOU want. (Tony: I'm scared, I guess.) That wasn't so hard, was it? (Tony: What?) Being honest. Now that we're being completely honest, I wasn't being totally straight with you either. | „ |
| ~ Sage to Tony when he reveals his backstory. |
| “ | (Tony: Oh my God.) Well, now I know your secret and you know mine. (Tony: Your moms are...drug dealers?) Well, I mean they prefer cannabis cultivators, or revolutionaries, either will work. Welcome to my life. There's the whole picture of why we're always on the move. Can't stay in one place longer than a growing season. Always trying to stay one step ahead of the law. | „ |
| ~ Sage explaining her family's work, which is why she and her moms are constantly on the move. |
| “ | Anthony! (Tony: Sage?) Anthony! (Tony: Sage!) Hi! (Tony runs over to Sage and she kisses him on the lips.) How did you know? (Tony: Gotta stay one step ahead of Johnny Law, right?) (chuckles) Wait, Anthony, you're missing the game. (Tony: It doesn't matter, I'm done. I'm not gonna play.) You HAVE to play. You've worked too hard to quit now. (Tony: See? The game's almost over anyways.) All right, well then all the more reason to hustle. (Tony: Now you're sounding like Coach.) Well then huddle up, 'cause I got a plan. (Tony: (chuckles) Wait, what do you mean?) Well, what do you think we've been working towards? | „ |
| ~ Sage encouraging Tony to play for Homecoming after he helps her and prepare for his dance. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Roxanne Schiebergen was initially going to play Sage before DeVido was cast.
- In the original script, Sage was going to be named Helen.
- In the play that inspired the film, Sage was constantly on the move because her father was in the army.
- In the climax, after Beth locks up her wheelchair, Sage was going to rescue Tony from Cody by knocking him out with the lock.