The Couch Potato's Guide to Summer Fun by Geoff Carter

“Drive-In”
RoyBuchanan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Ten Best Summer Films of All Time

Finally. After fourteen months of quarantine, confinement, isolation, boredom, and loneliness, we appear to be on the brink of beating the pandemic and getting back into a—somewhat—normalized social existence, which could mean a real summer—one with concerts, crowds, fun, and traveling.

We’re keeping our fingers crossed that as more people get vaccinated, COVID infections will continue to drop, which has been the trend over the last month or so. Sports arenas and baseball stadiums are already slowly allowing more fans into events. Live music shows have been tentatively scheduled. Summerfest is happening—in September, but what the hell? We’ll take it.

As a tribute to this great news, this breath of fresh air, the Couch Potato has decided to list what he considers to be the ten best films about summer. Not movies that were necessarily released in the summer, although some of them were, but films that happen during that wonderful season of freedom, hope, discovery, exploration, and growth. A number of these films are about growing up, about summer being a time when young people can start to sort out who they are. Some use summer as a background. The summer beach season and a sizzling summer in Brooklyn are necessary backdrops for Jaws and Do the Right Thing.

Choosing just ten was not an easy task. Besides the options listed above, the Couch Potato had to consider the Beach Blanket Bingo summer drive-in genre, a few oddballs (Independence Day and The Parent Trap) and was not able to recognize every film that deserved to be here.

So. Here are The Couch Potato’s Ten Best Films about the hazy crazy days of summer.

The Couch Potato’s Guide to Summer Fun

The Ten Best Films About Summer

Dazed and Confused: Taking place on the last day of school in May 1976, at Lee High School in Austin, Texas, this coming-of-age comedy follows a motley collection of high-schoolers—including stoners, jocks, and intellectuals—through freshmen hazing, a monster keg party, pot, pranks, and listening to vintage 70s rock and roll. Fits every definition of a great summer movie. Notable for a McConaughey’s iconic performance as David Wooderson, a former graduate who can’t stay away from his old high school buddies.

Starring Matthew McConaughey, “All right, all right, all right”, Parker Posey, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Ben Affleck, and Adam Goldberg. Directed by Richard Linklater.

American Graffiti: Another teen coming-of-age film. This movie is set on the last day of summer vacation in 1962 Modesto, California. Through a series of vignettes linked by the omnipresent voice of radio disk jockey Wolfman Jack, director George Lucas explores the cruising culture of the time. Notable as director George Lucas’s first major directorial success for the now trademark epilogue descriptions of its character’s fates.

Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Cynthia Williams, Paul Le Mat, Candy Clark, Charles Martin Smith, and a very young McKenzie Phillips. Directed by George Lucas.

Do the Right Thing: On the hottest day of the year in a Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, Mookie, a young pizza deliveryman, tries to keep cool as racial tensions simmer between Sal, the Italian American owner of the local pizzeria, and the people in his mostly African American neighborhood. Things finally come to a head when tempers flare, the cops are called, and someone dies. Notable as Spike Lee’s breakout film.

Starring: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Russell Edson, John Turturro, Bill Nunn, as well as Martin Lawrence and Rosie Perez in their first film appearances. Written and directed by Spike Lee.

The Seven Year Itch: Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell), a middle-aged publisher, sends his family out of the sweltering heat of a New York City summer as he is forced to stay in town in work. When he returns home, he happens to meet the beautiful model (Marilyn Monroe) who has moved into the upstairs apartment for the summer. Later, he reviews a psychology text describing the seven-year-itch, the urge to stray felt by men in that fateful year of marriage. Sherman decides that’s what is happening to him. Hilarity ensues as Sherman tries to play out his fantasies with the young and naïve Monroe. Notable for the iconic scene in which Marilyn stands over a subway grate, letting the passing wind lift raise her skirt.

Starring: Tom Ewell, Marilyn Monroe, and Oskar Homolka. Directed by Bill Wilder.

Midsommar: After experiencing an incredibly traumatic experience, a grief-stricken young woman accompanies her reluctant boyfriend and his two grad school friends to visit a small Swedish community for a mid-summer festival that occurs only once every ninety years. The quartet, however, finds themselves trapped in a shamanistic pagan cult complete with ancient death rites, barbaric rituals, and a haunting final scene. Notable for Florence Pugh’s incredible performance as a woman struggling for her very soul.

Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, and Will Poulter. Written and directed by Ari Aster.

Jaws: The incredibly popular iconic thriller about a New England beach town is terrorized by the sudden appearance of a monstrous great white shark feeding just offshore. The new sheriff, Martin Brody, must deal with the mayor and local merchants—who insist he keep the beaches open, the oceanographer who comes to study the beast, and Quint, the shark-killer with an axe to grind. Notable as the first summer blockbuster hit and as Steven Spielberg’s first big hit.

Starring: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, and Lee Fierro. Directed by Steven Spielberg.

The Graduate: Ben (Dustin Hoffman), a disaffected young man, comes home from college unsure what he wants to do with the rest of his life. He falls into the clutches of Mrs. Robinson, a family friend, who seduces him; Ben, unable to engage with her emotionally, is still unhappy until his parents persuade him to go on a date with Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, Elaine. After a rough start, they end up having a good time. Dissatisfied with Mrs. Robinson’s aloofness, Ben decides he loves Elaine and travels to Berkeley to win her affections. Notable for Simon & Garfunkel’s extraordinarily soundtrack.

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katherine Ross, William Daniels, and Murray Hamilton. Directed by Mike Nichols.

Call Me by Your Name: Elio, (Timothee Chalamet), a teen, is staying with his parents in Northern Italy. His father, an archeology professor, invites Oliver (Armie Hammer), one of his grad students, to come help him with his work. Elio, not initially attracted to Oliver, finds his feelings for the older man growing. The two eventually end up sleeping together and Elio falls deeply in love. As summer is ending and Oliver is preparing to leave, Elio must come to terms with his feeling of loss, heartbreak, and pain. Notable for the heartfelt speech given by Elio’s dad after Oliver leaves, telling his son the importance of absorbing, and not ignoring, the experience.

Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, and Esther Garrel. Screenplay by James Ivory. Directed by Luca Guadagnino.

Stand By Me: Four adolescent friends accidentally discover the whereabouts of the body of a missing boy. Eager to get credit for finding it, they strike out on a two-day cross-country trip to get it. Although each of the boys is variously plagued by self-doubt, feelings of worthlessness, and inadequacy, they learn to trust each other and discover that the nature of their quest is not simply about finding a body, but also about finding dignity. Notable for one of River Phoenix’s most poignant performances.

Starring: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, and Kiefer Sutherland. Directed by Rob Reiner.

Caddyshack: The iconic screwball comedy about a group of caddies working the summer at the plush Bushwood Country Club. Danny Noonan, a top caddy, is trying to figure out a way to get to college on a caddy’s salary. He tries to get help from the club’s owner (Ted Kinght), the local pro (Chevy Chase), and a wealthy but tasteless patron (Rodney Dangerfield) but finally realizes he must beat the judge in an impromptu high-stakes game of golf in order to get what he wants. Notable for Bill Murray’s monologues as Cark the groundskeeper.

Starring; Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O’Keefe, Bill Murray, and Sarah Holcomb. Written and directed by Harold Ramis.