Summer Movie Recommendations

Last week I provided recommendations of summer-themed books. This week I’m going to discuss summer-themed movies.

“(500) Days of Summer”

I saw this one in the cinema with my husband and we both thoroughly enjoyed it (and own it on dvd). This is the movie that has the famous scene(s) inside an Ikea store where the young couple spend a Saturday walking through the various rooms “playing house,” as you do.

This is a movie about a pair of coworkers who fall in love, or at least one of them falls in love, the other one not so much, but they have fun while it lasts. Not sure if you would call this a break-up movie or a relationship movie. Perhaps that depends on whether you see the glass as half empty or half full.

I can tell you that Joseph Gordon Levitt and  Zoey Deschanel are fantastic in this movie.

“The Kings of Summer”

I believe this was Nick Robinson’s debut on the silver screen after starring in the sitcom, “Melissa and Joey.” This is an independent film which my husband and I saw many years ago at the Drexel Theatre in Bexley.

The plot of this movie revolves around a group of friends who ‘run away’ for the summer and construct their own sort of clubhouse/treehouse dwelling in the woods. Of course being teenagers, not all goes smoothly and the movie almost ends in a tragedy, but not quite. 

“Summer School”

I believe I saw this movie in the cinema as well, way back in my 20s when I still occasionally got carded going into R rated movies (yes, this really happened at least once).

Though I never had to do summer school myself thanks to all the assistance from my father to help me pass my various high school math classes, but I can just imagine what it must have been like for my peers who weren’t so fortunate. I doubt any of them had the same experience that the students in the movie did, but it provided a good couple hours of comic relief.

I loved the interaction between Mark Harmon and his Breakfast Club-like group of students, and the various conversations between Mark Harmon and fellow teacher, Kirstie Alley (who taught the over achievers next door).

Even though this movie was made over three decades ago, I think a lot of it is still somewhat timeless (except, I suppose, for the fact that students actually had to attend instead of just completing their courses online).

“Indian Summer”

I’m pretty sure I went to the cinema for this one too (I never really started streaming movies much until the last 10 years or so as we’re getting lazier and lazier about going to the theatre). I watched the trailer again recently and this movie definitely looks and sounds dated, but don’t let that put you off.

The plot is about a group of young adults who are invited back to their childhood summer camp by the former camp director played by Alan Arkin (which is reason enough to see the movie), whom they all call ‘Uncle Lou.’

I think if you appreciate a bit of nostalgia and a little adult naughtiness (though pretty tame by today’s standards), then you’ll probably like this film.

By the way, did anyone out there actually go away to camp? At most I went on the occasional camping trip with my Girl Scout troop, and spent three days with my classmates at Camp Whitewood when I was in 6^th grade. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed spending several weeks away from home with total strangers, and the whole swimming thing would definitely have scared the crap out of me.

 

“Summer Magic”

I only just watched this movie, which is definitely the vintage choice on this list as it dates back to 1963 and stars Hayley Mills (who is excellent in every movie and even as Miss Bliss in “Saved by the Bell”) and Burl Ives (he’s the narrator in all my favorite childhood Christmas specials).

It’s a pretty simple plot – a widow and her three children move to an unoccupied (owner is overseas) house in the country after losing their life savings on mining stocks that plummeted in value (the movie is set closer to the earlier part of the 20^th century). It’s a little bit of an adjustment for them, but they take it all in stride and certainly love their new house (which appears to be every bit as big as their fancy house in Boston, but no French maids anymore).

I suspect this movie might be a bit too dated for my younger readers, but those of us on the older end of the spectrum might appreciate it for the nostalgia of simpler times and family closeness.

“Judy Moody and the Not So Bummer Summer”

I haven’t actually seen this one yet, but I am tempted to stream it sometime because it seems like an appropriate choice due to having an unusual summer without all the usual diversions (like festivals and concerts, etc.).

I believe the plot revolves around the fact that young Judy has a wild summer planned, but those plans get thwarted when her two best friends go away for the summer and her parents are away too leaving her in the care of her favorite aunt.

According to a website called Common Sense Media, “Judy learns a valuable lesson: that having a meaningful summer isn’t about ticking off “thrilling” activities on a chart but rather enjoying your family and each day’s adventures.”

For a longer list of Summer movies, click here: https://www.ranker.com/list/best-movies-with-summer-in-the-title/ranker-film