films i must watch every summer
from indie darlings to dumb comedies to horror and blockbusters, these films evoke that summer feeling and make the season special
If you’re a longtime subscriber of mine, you may have noticed that I tend to watch things based on the season. There’s just something about watching a movie that matches the season that makes both more special. I need to watch the following movies every year between June and August to make my summer feel complete. If you haven’t already done so, start a drinking game where you take a shot every time I use the word “summer.”
Nope (2022) dir. Jordan Peele
Nope is Peele’s best film to date. When I saw Nope in theaters, I was blown away at everything; the script, the cinematography, the technical details. There are so many layers to the story and the performances. It’s the best example of a film that can have a different meaning for every rewatch. There are so many small details you can pick up on when you’re not staring at the screen in awe of the film’s larger-than-life scope. If a perfect film exists, it has to be this one. Being set in the California desert and evoking Spielbergian summer blockbuster energy, this is perfect viewing during the summer when you need something big and exciting to watch.
Nope follows siblings OJ and Em as they struggle to keep their recently deceased father’s horse ranch open. The ranch trains and handles horses for Hollywood productions but has been losing money because OJ and Em can’t figure out how to work together. OJ is quiet and awkward, preferring to handle the animals, while Em is outgoing and hustling for any opportunity, even if it means leaving OJ hanging. To make up for the losses, OJ has been selling their horses to his neighbor Jupe, a former child actor who had a traumatic experience with an animal on set and now runs a Western theme park. One night at their ranch, OJ and Em notice a UFO and discover it stealing their horses. To save the ranch and bring their family’s long-overlooked legacy in Hollywood to light, they decide to capture footage of the UFO and sell it. They enlist the help of electronics store employee Angel and famed cinematographer Antlers Holst. But of course, the more they try to get footage, the more they discover about the UFO–and they discover that trying to do this may bring an end to everything.
God, I wish I could say more but Nope is a film that’s best going in blind for. Every single twist and turn felt like a huge revelation the first time I watched it, and even now I still get chills when OJ discovers what the UFO really is. Thematically, there is so much to unpack and I don’t want to say too much, but I loved the film’s commentary on spectacle and exploitation. It was like a simultaneous love letter and criticism of the film industry itself. If you’re a film lover like me, I encourage you to read the behind-the-scenes of all the technical filmmaking details that went into the movie. It’s truly fascinating stuff. But Peele nailed it with the interpersonal, too. OJ and Em’s relationship and each of their unique strengths and weaknesses drive the film forward and give it a deeply touching humanity. Who could’ve guessed one-half of Key and Peele would turn out to be a horror filmmaking genius?
“This dream you’re chasing… it’s one you never look up from.”
Asteroid City (2023) dir. Wes Anderson
This is the first repeat of a film suggestion in my newsletter and Asteroid City deserves it. The film doesn’t really take place in the summer because technically it takes place nowhere. In true Wes Anderson fashion, it’s a movie about a documentary about the creation and production of a play titled Asteroid City. The scenes where we directly see the events of the play, however, are set in a beautifully bright, pastel retro-futuristic fictional desert town named Asteroid City. The bright colors and desert motel setting make it the perfect eye candy for summer days, reminiscent of small towns that make their money on summer tourism. If only the film’s subject matter was as bright as its color palette. But then that wouldn’t be very Wes Anderson now, would it?
The play that’s being depicted is about several tourists who arrive in Asteroid City for various reasons; most of them are there for the annual Junior Stargazer convention. Augie, a war photojournalist, is there for his son Woodrow, who is being honored at the convention. Augie meets Midge, a famous yet world-weary actress who is also there for the convention for her daughter Dinah. These four and the rest of the ensemble (I’m sorry, I’m too lazy to name and give backstory for the rest of them, there are TOO MANY) are suddenly quarantined in Asteroid City after they see an alien fly down in a UFO and steal the piece of the meteorite that created Asteroid City’s famous crater. These characters bond in quarantine as they find ways to cure their boredom and even try to escape.
Throughout the film, black-and-white scenes of the documentary about the play are interspersed and we see the actors’ approaches to their characters, most notably the actor who plays Augie, who repeatedly questions if he is “getting him right.” I can’t really say more because part of the beauty of this film is not knowing what the hell is going on until the very end when everything suddenly clicks and you start crying. At least, that’s how it was for me. I think you do have to be a Wes Anderson fan, or at least familiar with his work, to not be overwhelmed by this one, but if any of you first-timers wanna watch it, let me know the outcome of your decision.
“I still don’t understand the play.”
“Doesn’t matter. Just keep telling the story.”
Jurassic Park (1993) dir. Steven Spielberg
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e5b4c45-9dbb-4315-8480-729d00aad237_703x1000.jpeg)
Leaving this classic off the list is criminal. I’ve watched Jurassic Park almost every year since I was little and it still feels as exciting as the first time. Watching a bunch of people trying to escape a tropical island full of dinosaurs is about as “summer blockbuster energy” as you can get. It’s still hard to believe some people haven’t seen it but if you’re one of those people, here it goes:
Billionaire industrialist John Hammond invites paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant and his partner paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler to see Jurassic Park, a theme park of live, cloned dinosaurs located on a remote island in the Caribbean. The group is taken on a pre-opening tour with chaotician Ian Malcolm and Hammond’s two grandchildren. What they don’t know is that a few days prior, a dinosaur attack resulting in the death of a park employee made the park’s investors demand that Hammond have a safety certification done–the group, along with lawyer Donald Gennaro, are the very first citizens to see the park in action. Due to several circumstances, including a tropical storm and a traitorous employee, the group becomes stranded on the island with no working barriers between them and the carnivorous dinosaurs, one of which includes the infamous T. Rex.
This film is a masterclass in building suspense, letting you see all the tiny elements that combine to create disaster. After all these years I still get goosebumps during the scene when the cup of water in the park’s electric vehicle starts shaking, letting you know the T. Rex is coming. Spielberg masters the balancing act of awe-filled spectacle and wonder with frightening and slightly gory danger and death. For a film from the 90s, the special effects hold up very well, probably because Spielberg is a genius but also because it blended traditional animatronics with CGI, which was fairly new at the time. Technical filmmaking will always win! The film is great for its larger-than-life scope but any truly great film still needs a good story, and JP has got it; the hubris of man and its many consequences is a tale for the ages and it’s why the film’s many sequels don’t hold a candle to the original.
Plus, the sequels don’t have this gorgeous shot of Jeff Goldblum.
“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.”
The To Do List (2013) dir. Maggie Carey
I love films about the summer after you graduate high school. They can be poetic, special, eye-opening… or just raunchy.
In the year of 1993 Brandy, a type-A valedictorian, decides to gather as much sexual experience as she can before she leaves for college in the fall. Being the honors kid that she is, she writes a list of things she wants to try, culminating in her ultimate goal: lose her virginity to Rusty Waters, a hot older guy she met at a party, and achieve her first orgasm. Her more experienced best friends Wendy and Fiona help her with this list, and Brandy’s summer job at the local pool provides her with no shortage of boys. Adding some drama to the mix is Brandy’s deeply protective, conservative, father, her sex-positive sister Amber, and her lab partner Cameron, who works at the pool and has a huge crush on her.
The comedy in the film is hit or miss but I love the film’s sincerity when it comes to female sexuality and friendship. As opposed to the stereotype that women can only be in love to have sex, Brandy’s character takes a cool, methodical approach. She just wants to have fun! Brandy also relies on her friends a lot and when she comes to some epiphanies at the end, decides to put her friendship with them first in a cute scene involving the movie Beaches. Another key aspect of the film I enjoyed is the realistic reason Brandy decided to embark on this journey in the first place: insecurity. Brandy is insecure about her lack of sexual experience and worries this will stop her from landing the guys she wants. While she learns to overcome this, it’s a very natural feeling and makes Brandy feel like a real person. I do wish the film had made more of an effort to say that not having sex at 18 is very common, but at least Brandy has agency in her sexual journey.
Also, I don’t how they achieved this, but the cast in this film is STACKED. Just look at this roster: Aubrey Plaza, Rachel Bilson, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Donald Glover, Connie Britton, and Alia Shawkat. The film isn’t perfect but Aubrey Plaza gives a great performance and Rotten Tomatoes can burn in hell.
“Yeah, I prefer ‘cunnilingus’ though. ‘Eat out’ reminds me of fast food.”
How to Make an American Quilt (1995) dir. Jocelyn Moorhouse
You know those films that have a story with potential but the film ruins it but you love it anyway because the parts of the story that do work are very enjoyable and the cast gives impressive performances that carry the film through its frustrating errors and also you watched it during your formative years for one of your favorite actresses so you have an emotional attachment to it? That’s this film for me.
How to Make an American Quilt follows Finn, a graduate student at Berkley who visits her grandmother in the orchards of Northern California to finish her thesis and clear her head after her boyfriend Sam proposes. While there, she spends time with her grandmother’s quilting group as they craft her wedding quilt and tell her stories of their own great love affairs. As she hears their stories, she ponders whether or not marriage is for her, if Sam is “the one”, and the different ways love can exist. Additionally, an attractive man named Leon tempts her with a summer affair.
I think this film was trying to say that love is a choice, which is true to an extent, but all I see are stories of women who gave up their dreams or their dignity to stay with men who did them wrong. This film actually makes me more angry at men and I don’t think that was the goal. It’s actually so thematically confusing and now I’m getting reminded of the angry Letterboxd review I wrote about it. Nevertheless, the women the stories are about are inspiring and it reminds me of visiting my grandma every summer. I wish my grandma had lived long enough for me to talk with her about men and love and marriage. This film brings me that sort of comfort in a way. Plus, the cast includes Winona Ryder, Alfre Woodard, and MAYA ANGELOU?! If only it were legally possible for me to rewrite the script and fix all its mistakes.
“Young lovers seek perfection. Old lovers learn the art of sewing shreds together and of seeing beauty in a multiplicity of patches.”
Midsommar (2019) dir. Ari Aster
It’s not summer without a horror film that takes place in broad daylight! My favorite of horror auteur Ari Aster’s work, Midsommar follows Dani, a young woman who has experienced an awful tragedy and clings to her toxic relationship with her boyfriend Christian for support. Christian and his friends are going to rural Sweden to attend a 9-day midsummer festival; they were invited by their friend Pelle, who is a member of the cult commune throwing the festival, the Harga. After an argument, Christian reluctantly invites Dani along. Dani is initially put off by the Harga and some of their practices but is lured to stay by Pelle. As the trip goes on, the members of Dani’s group disappear under mysterious circumstances and by the time we find out the true purposes of the trip, it’s too late.
Thematically, there’s a lot to unpack with this one but I can’t say too much without giving crucial plot details away. There are many different ways to interpret this film. Aster himself stated that he wrote it with the idea of breakups in mind, having just gone through one himself. The film could be seen as one long example of intense gaslighting. Other themes include trauma, grief, manipulation, mental illness, religion, American imperialism, and white supremacy. What I HATE is when people put the film in the “Good For Her” category because if you’ve seen it then you know that the ending is anything but. There’s a great video essay about the ending by Acolytes of Horror, “How Midsommar Brainwashes You.” In addition to the film being centered on the longest day of the year, the bright, vivid, beautiful cinematography is perfect for fantasizing about summer trips abroad; until the murders, of course.
Call Me By Your Name (2017) dir. Luca Gaudagnino
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30bb424d-3283-49d3-97b4-9e7f5e895a2f_1000x1481.jpeg)
I love this film, okay, fucking sue me. Anything I could say about the film’s problematic elements can be summed up in this quick 2-hour video by Lola Sebastian, “we need to talk about Call Me By Your Name.”
Call Me By Your Name was Timothee Chalamet’s indie breakout role as the charming and precocious Elio, a 17-year-old boy who is infatuated with Oliver, his father’s 24-year-old graduate-student assistant during the summer of 1983 somewhere in Northern Italy. Elio is shy, loves reading, and plays piano, while Oliver is confident and charismatic. In Guadagnino’s words, it’s about “being who you want to be and finding yourself into the gaze of the other in his or her otherness.” What I love most about this film is its atmospheric nature. Guadagnino’s directing style is very lived-in, with long, lingering shots, closeups, background sounds, and subdued performances. I borrowed the DVD the very same week libraries were shut down for the pandemic, and in response, my local library told us all checked-out items could be held indefinitely. So every week I was transported to Italy, with its bright blue natural waters, vineyards, sunshine, and fresh fruit, pandemic anxiety gone. The cinematography is stunning and the score is so beautiful that I have it downloaded on my phone; the film’s final scene with Sufjan Stevens’s “Visions of Gideon” playing will haunt me forever.
I do want to talk about the story a little bit more. Because I do think it is a good story despite the age gap. Personally, I’ve never interpreted the film as this summer romance but rather the coming-of-age of a boy discovering his bisexuality in an environment where there aren’t many opportunities to do so. A key part of the film is when Elio’s mother reads him a story with a quote that goes, “Is it better to speak or to die?” That’s essentially what the film is about; voicing the hidden parts of yourself. This theme extends beyond Elio and Oliver’s relationship; they are both Jewish but while Oliver is openly Jewish, Elio says his family are “Jews of discretion.” Through his bond with Oliver, Elio learns to voice all parts of himself, as evidenced when he begins wearing his Star of David necklace and accepting the pain he feels when (spoiler alert) things between them don’t work out.
I also want to note that there was no trauma, no melodramatic themes or scenes, no punishment for being queer, and no mention of HIV/AIDS. There was also no explicit nudity or sex scenes; there’s nothing inherently wrong with those things but one, Elio is 17, and two, many queer stories are oversexualized and fetishized in the media, contributing to homophobic stereotypes. So to see the absence of these things in a queer love story was big for 2017. While I don’t endorse the age gap or a couple of other problematic scenes in the film, I don’t think we should ignore that age gaps were a reality for many queer men in the past; the video I linked goes into more detail about this. If Elio and Oliver stayed together I’d have liked the film less; I like that they break up, for multiple reasons. The story is based on a novel and I also like it, although some scenes are completely gross and unnecessary–the author is a weirdo and this is one of the few times a movie was done better than a book. There’s a sequel to the book that I have no interest in and from the looks of it, neither does Guadagnino, thank god.
“We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty, and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to make yourself feel nothing so as not to feel anything - what a waste.”
Dirty Dancing (1987) dir. Emile Ardolino
Dirty Dancing is a classic for a reason; it expertly portrays themes of class, coming-of-age, and societal expectations under the guise of a summer romance. The film follows Baby, a 17/18-year-old girl vacationing in the Catskills with her rich family in the summer of 1963. The golden child of her strict cardiologist father, Baby rarely ever ignores the rules or what’s asked of her. Until she meets Johnny, a rebellious dance instructor, at a secret “dirty dancing” party where the working-class employees of the resort let loose. When Johnny’s dance partner Penny is unable to dance for the season due to a botched back-alley abortion, Baby steps in to help. Johnny teaches her how to dance and, as you can guess, they fall in love, but keep their romance secret.
Themes of sexual awakening are tied to class consciousness and societal rebellion; all of this is Baby’s coming-of-age moment. The first time she sees the secret dirty dancing party, she’s not only exposed to her own budding sexuality but to societal rebellion, seeing as this type of dancing was forbidden in the 60s and the party is attended by the working-class resort employees who are not welcome in the circles of the resort guests they serve. Her friendship with Penny and romance with Johnny allow her to witness the class divide up close. Even Baby’s journey as a dancer herself symbolizes her growing independence and division from the world she was raised in. Johnny may be teaching Baby specific steps in a specific order but the problem lies in Baby being too afraid to mess up and not letting the dance guide her. She is at first unable to perform the big lift because she’s scared of messing up such a big move. The first time Baby successfully performs the move is in front of her father and the rest of the guests, symbolizing how comfortable she now is to be herself and openly defy the rigidness of upper-class society.
I like to watch this film towards the end of summer for some reason, maybe because the movie ends on the resort’s end-of-season talent show and it brings a sort of finality to everything, getting me in the mood for an autumn that’s around the corner. This movie also fuels my fantasy for a summer fling. I’d love to have a steamy summer affair but I know in my lover-girl heart that I’d want us to stay together right through the bitter winter.
“Me? I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you.”
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) dir. Halina Reijn
I can’t describe this movie with any other word than FUN. It’s just fun! If horror-comedy is your thing, Bodies Bodies Bodies should be at the top of your list. Set in the south (Florida, I’m pretty sure) during a hurricane, this film has those perfect summer horror vibes. Wait for a summer rainstorm to start watching.
The film follows Bee, a working-class twenty-something woman from Eastern Europe who is invited to a “hurricane party” by her wealthy girlfriend, Sophie. The party is held in a mansion owned by Sophie’s friend, David. Rounding out the Gen Z cast is Emma, an aspiring actress and David’s girlfriend; Alice, a podcaster; Alice’s much-older Tinder boyfriend Greg; and Max, Sophie’s suspicious ex-girlfriend. After a while of partying and using various substances, the group decides to play “Bodies Bodies Bodies”, a murder-in-the-dark style game where one by one, each player “dies” and the group has to figure out who the killer is. But when one of them actually turns up dead, the group’s friendship and trust in each other unravels as they try to figure out who the killer is while more bodies keep dropping.
The film is a great satire of class, privilege, Gen Z culture, the language of progressive politics, and our inability to be without technology, but as I said before, it’s also just a lot of fun! The score is also excellent. When I saw it in theaters, I screamed (internally) at the ending because OF COURSE that’s how a horror satire about Gen Z ends (iykyk). At a tight hour and a half, no second of the film goes wasted and it’s a hilarious, thrilling journey from beginning to end. Unfortunately, Pete Davidson does have a role but don’t let that stop you (I actually like him in some things I just think it’s funny how he seems to show up in EVERYTHING).
“Don’t call her a psychopath, that’s so ableist!”
Jaws (1975) dir. Steven Spielberg
The modern blockbuster as we know it today may be absolutely fucked thanks to greedy, soulless studios but its glory days lasted a few good decades. This all began with Jaws. The film follows the residents of New England beach town Amity Island as a great white shark attacks and eats them one by one. Martin Brody, the town’s new police chief, must work with young marine biologist Matt Hooper and eccentric shark hunter Quint to catch the shark. But working against them is the town’s mayor, Larry Vaughn, who is determined to downplay the situation and keep the beach open so the town doesn’t lose the money it makes from summer tourism.
Just like with Jurassic Park, this film expertly builds tension and suspense. Spielberg keeps you on your toes by not showing the full shark until almost an hour and a half into the film. The moment you finally see it is truly breathtaking. Leaving the shark up to our imagination while letting that iconic score by John Williams play is what I love about movies. What makes it even better is that this happened as a result of the prop shark malfunctioning, so they couldn’t have it on screen as much as they originally wanted. Some of the best things in film are because of accidents. The film was the first major production to be shot on the ocean and Spielberg was just 27 while directing. To make history that young! I recently learned Steven Spielberg was born in my hometown of Cincinnati so now I’m going to be obnoxious about that fact for the rest of my life.
“I think that I am familiar with the fact that you are going to ignore this particular problem until it swims up and BITES YOU ON THE ASS!”
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) dir. Jake Syzmanksi
Everyone needs a dumb comedy to satisfy the monkey parts of their brain and this is that comedy for me. I thought it was so good that I saw it twice in theaters at the formative age of 19 (the age where you’re legally allowed to be stupid) during the summer of 2016 AKA the best summer in North American history.
Brothers Mike (DeVine) and Dave (Efron) run a liquor business together and frequently get themselves into sticky situations due to their antics, especially at family gatherings. Because of this, their parents want them to bring dates to their sister Jeanie’s upcoming destination wedding in Hawaii, thinking it will make them behave. The brothers put an ad for dates on Craigslist and the ad goes viral. That leads to the recently fired and equally trouble-stirring roommates Tatiana (Plaza) and Alice (Kendrick) seeing the ad. Thinking a free vacation is just what they need, Tatiana and Alice create fake identities to hide their various flaws and scheme to get invited to Hawaii. And it works! The guys think they’re the perfect, well-behaved nice girls who will keep them in line. Oh boy, are they wrong.
Honestly, the film has remained a staple of mine mainly because of nostalgia and its stellar cast (Zac Efron, Adam DeVine, Aubrey Plaza, and Anna Kendrick) doing their best with the material. The premise is interesting and the cast is great, especially Aubrey Plaza, but the humor is hit-or-miss and is very 2010s in some not-so-great ways. But watching it every year transports me back to Summer 2016, and I think that’s good reason enough.
Mike: [at his sister, who just survived an ATV accident that Alice caused and looks awful] “You look like burn victim Barbie.”
IT (2017) dir. Andy Muschietti
No one will ever be able to justly adapt Stephen King’s 1000-page novel for the screen but among our options, 2017’s IT is the best attempt so far.
IT follows a group of 7 kids (Bill, Beverly, Richie, Stan, Ben, Mike, and Eddie) in Derry, Maine during the summer of 1989 as they’re being terrorized by an evil clown named Pennywise that only the children of Derry can see and hear. The group initially comes together to stand up against town bullies but realizes they have a lot more in common when they open up about all the ways Pennywise stalks them. Pennywise normally takes the form of a clown to lure children but he is actually an evil entity who can shape-shift into anything; he uses this power to turn into each kid’s own worst fear. From reading town history, the kids figure out that Pennywise appears every 27 years to feed on children. Bill, whose little brother Georgie went missing last summer, thinks Pennywise must have him. The group decides to confront Pennywise and put an end to his terror, but if you know anything about IT, then you’ll know that they have to come back 27 years later as adults to finish the job in a sequel that is not as good.
I love to watch IT in late summer, usually in August or September, and preferably on a rainy day, to mark the end of summer and the beginning of spooky season. This may also be because the first time I watched the 1990 IT TV miniseries, it was a rainy summer day, and I love trying to recapture these moments, or it could also be because a lot of the film features rainy weather and Pennywise lives in the town’s sewers. I do sometimes still watch the miniseries to appreciate its campiness and Tim Curry as the titular clown, but the film definitely does a better service to the story with its gory horror, superior world-building, and a larger focus on themes of friendship, childhood traumas, and loss of innocence. The kid actors do a great job of mixing fear with genuine childhood sincerity, humor, and wonder. All that being said, there are some things I don’t like, the main one being that Mike, the only Black character, is completely changed from the book for no good reason.
A prequel series Welcome to Derry is currently filming and scheduled to be released on Max in 2025. It will take place in the 1960’s and explore Pennywise’s origin, although sadly Bill Skarsgard, who plays him in the films, won’t be returning. I’m wary of prequels, sequels, and Max’s devotion to capitalizing off of existing IP, but I will be seated.
“When you're a kid, you think that you'll always be... protected, and cared for. Then, one day, you realize that's not true. If you open your eyes, you will see what we're going through. 'Cause when you're alone as a kid, the monsters see you as weaker.”
That’s it for my summer must-watches! Are any of your faves on this list? Which films intrigue you? Do you have any films you like to watch every summer? Let me know in the comments!
If you liked this post you can click ‘like’ and
leave a comment:
share this post:
and subscribe to my newsletter for free:
Thanks for reading!
treating this list like homework!!!! I love movies like Nope, Midsommar, Bodiesx3 so I'm excited to try out some of the ones I haven't seen yet (like Jaws oops)
Jurassic Park 🖤