It’s been raining on and off since yesterday afternoon, but I don’t mind much because a rainy summer evening means I can sink into the couch after work without the guilt that comes along with wasting a gorgeous night indoors. I can settle in and catch up on editing photos, while I play my favorite summer movies for background noise.
I know the season’s full of action-packed blockbusters at the theater, but at my house, these lingering late-summer days come with a sense of nostalgia and a longing to watch films that feel like old friends. Here is a handful of flicks I’ve had on repeat for the last 10 Augusts or so.
1. Camp Nowhere
Four kids hatch a foolproof plan to get out of spending their summers at boring camps. They blackmail a drama teacher (Christopher Lloyd) to help them rent a campground, and spend the summer with no parents, no couselors, and no rules. Chaos ensues. I know some people think this movie is completely stupid, but I can’t help it. I used to think it was hilarious, and I watched it over and over again. =)
2. Dirty Dancing
I remember one summer my family stayed at a resort in the Poconos with our friends — we rode horses, swam, hiked and ate in a dining room with all of the other guests. There were no dancing lessons, but I imagine it’s the closest I’ll ever get to Baby’s 1963 stay at Kellerman’s. =)
3. Gidget
The summer I first tried surfing, I become obsessed with Gidget. I can just hear Sandra Dee’s animated one-liners. “Honest to goodness, it’s the absolute ultimate!” Late that summer I came down with some pretty bad ear infections, and I remember spending lots of time recording and watching old episodes of the TV show starring Sally Field, too.
4. The Sandlot
The Sandlot was released on April 7, 1993. At the time, I was an avid softball player, and I went to see it with my friends to celebrate my 12th birthday. We quoted lines from the movie for years (“The Beast was the most perfect junkyard dog that ever lived…”), and the soundtrack was amazing.
5. The Graduate
Surprisingly, I saw The Graduate on Broadway one summer before I saw the movie. I did watch the film a few weeks later, and I was fascinated by the cinematography, the pool scenes and the tan lines. I was still a film major at the time. Another movie with an amazing soundtrack, of course.
6. My Father the Hero
The classic tale of a teenage girl vacationing with her father on a beautiful Caribbean island, telling lie after blatant lie to impress a cute boy. This was Katherine Heigl’s first leading role, and she was oh-so-perfectly-dramatic as Nicole. The scenery is gorgeous, and Gerard Depardieu is pretty funny. I recently found out this version of My Father the Hero is a remake of the original, which was in French. I’d like to watch the French one sometime…I bet I wouldn’t even need subtitles. =)
P.S. I’m almost certain there are pineapples on her shorts in the photo above, and if anyone knows where I can get my hands on a pair like them, please e-mail me immediately.
7. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
There are plenty of reasons to love this movie (which is probably the most recent on my list). First, I have a weakness for any film, book, etc. set in Hawaii. Though I’ve never been there, I’ve been infatuated with Hawaii since college. Second, Russell Brand is hilarious. Third, I love Kristen Bell. And fourth, I always love getting a glimpse of this shark tooth necklace, which has been on my wish list since 2008.
8. The Parent Trap (either version)
I prefer the old one, but the Lindsay Lohan remake is actually pretty decent.
9. Blue Crush
Surfing, Hawaii, gorgeous diamond bracelet…are you sensing a trend? =)
10. Rear Window
first saw Hitchcock’s Rear Window in a film studies class in college. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a great one. James Stewart plays the main character, a photographer who is recovering from a broken leg confined to a wheelchair in his apartment. During a sweltering heat wave, he overcomes his boredom by observing his neighbors through their open windows, and soon develops a theory that a man across the way has murdered his wife after witnessing a few bizarre occurrences. He and his girlfriend (Grace Kelly) go to great lengths to prove the neighbor’s guilt.
I could go on to list at least five more, but hopefully we won’t have enough rainy days to justify all that.
How about you? Have you seen any of these films? What are some of your favorite summertime movies?
