After living through the Ice Age this past winter and a series of cold Spring days in which my overworked heater had to kick on repeatedly, I am more than ready to start complaining about the heat of Summer. And, since today is the first day of May (which we all recognize as the official countdown to vacation season) I figure it is only appropriate to list my go-to flicks that get me into a Summer mindset.
So grab whatever contraption you like to watch movies on and head outside for a mental va-cay…I’ve already mixed up a batch of margaritas and I’ll see you out there.
1. The Kings of Summer (2013)
Three friends, Joe (Nick Robinson), Patrick (Gabriel Basso) and Biaggio (Moises Arias), grow tired of life so, naturally, they build a house in the woods and decide to live off the land. Things don’t go so well, but hey, all that freedom is kind of awesome and also, No Parents.
2. Taking Woodstock (2009)
Elliot Teichberg (Demetri Martin) wants to save his parent’s motel from being foreclosed on and finds that the biggest opportunity to do so would be to offer the place up as home base for some music festival organizers. Good thing that the festival is called Woodstock and his parent’s next door neighbor is Max Yasgur.
Based upon the memoir Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life by Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte.
3. Meatballs (1979)
Do I really need to tell you the plot of this?
4. The Way, Way Back (2013)
Duncan (Liam James) is forced to spend the summer with his mom (Toni Collette) and her boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell), something that Duncan is super pissed about. Thank god that a cute girl lives next door and the local water park is hiring, otherwise the whole summer would be spent without having any life-changing moments.
5. Super 8 (2011)
Schools out for the summer and juvenile filmmakers Joe (Joel Courtney), Charles (Riley Griffiths), Preston (Zach Mills), Martin (Gabriel Basso), Cary (Ryan Lee) and Alice (Elle Fanning) are ready to create their Zombie masterpiece and enter it in a film competition. Unfortunately, a night of shooting at the railroad tracks ends up in a fiery disaster and the realization that “We” are not alone.
Yep, summer is a good time for aliens.
6. The Endless Summer (1966)
Filmmaker Bruce Brown follows two surfers, Mike Hynson and Robert August, for an around-the-world tour of chasing the summer season. Even if you have never picked up a surfboard in your life, this movie makes the case for why it might be a good idea to leave Winter to those freaks who like the cold…or, you know, start taking surfing lessons.
7. Little Darlings (1980)
Losing your virginity is a rite-of-passage and for Summer Camp ingenues Tatum O’Neal and Kristy McNichol, all it takes is a high-stake bet on which one will get their cherry popped first to make the summer interesting. But don’t let the simplicity of the plot turn you off, great acting and a seriously strong script make this coming-of-age story far more poignant than it initially seems.
And it co-stars a dreamy Matt Dillon so yeah, it’s worth it.
8. Jaws (1975)
It isn’t summer until you watch this movie…I think it’s a law or something.
9. The Sandlot (1993)
I was 19 when this movie came out but for my husband (who is 6 years younger) the story of a group of boys who bond over a sandlot baseball game marked him on an emotional level. And from the tears that spring up anytime I mention this film to someone around his age, I’m guessing it’s like that for most of them.
10. Daria: Is It Fall Yet? (2000)
When you need to detox from the long, hot days of summer and you start aching for some Pumpkin Spice lattes, the tale of sarcastic Daria Morgendorffer hating the season of sun and fun will help you make the transition to bitter fall.
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