As the end of summer approaches, it's time to update your Netflix queue or go out and rent at least one summer classic if you haven't already. This is my own personal list of recommendations-- no films were chosen for critical acclaim, quality or classiness. They are just films that have always screamed summer to me. In no particular order:
1. Wet Hot American Summer. It's camp at it's campiest. This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, period, and with an incredible soundtrack and all-star cast, it's a must-see at any time of year.
2. Heavy Weights. Yes, that movie about fat camp! I first saw this with my cousin Grace and her older friend on summer vacation and thought they were the coolest people alive. That bias does not deter from the fact that this movie is a summer gem.
3. Dirty Dancing. Duh! I dare you to find a movie moment that better captures the "anything is possible" moment of summer than the scene where Baby slips out of her family's cabin in a sundress and sweater and the dainty chords of "Time of My Life" play in the background.
4. Dazed and Confused. The classic, epic coming of age story that has a little something for everyone.
5. The Sandlot. Ah, the freedom, the friendship, the foul balls.
6. Almost Famous. The summer so many of us wished we'd had as teenagers.
7. Now and Then. Kind of a girls version of The Sandlot. Dream cast and fake breasts made of pudding. What's not to love?
8. Mamma Mia. Beautiful scenery? Check. Song and dance? Check. One of the best and most random ensemble casts ever? Check? Meryl Streep? Done.
9. The Parent Trap. I'm talking the original Haley Mills version here, but the Lindsay Lohan 1998 remake has its merits. Wacky hijinx of the best possible kind.
10. Jurassic Park. What qualifies this to be a summer movie? Who cares! Adventure, dinosaurs, bad guys who die and good guys who outsmart the dinosaurs...perfection.
