Top 10 Nostalgic Summer Films
Let the Summer Magic Rewind Again and Again
Photo: Kumiko Shimizu on Unsplash
Summer is officially arriving, here, in Southern California. Local beachgoers crowd every available patch of sand, friends cool down by sharing a Coke, and Coppertone Sport Spray is once again the hottest perfume around.
Well, like you, these sunburned souls turn to film once the sun kisses the horizon after a long day of adventure and fun. Whether you are organizing an outdoor lawn screening for fifty of your closest friends, sprawling out over a cool living room couch with your family, or flipping open a laptop by the pool alone, movies can always be depended upon to keep the excitement alive when you want to kick back and relax.
But with endless streaming choices, where do you begin?
Easy. Nothing goes better with summer than nostalgia. It transports us to a (seemingly) simpler yesterday without ever leaving a complex present that just keeps moving full steam ahead. There is confidence in knowing where America has been and uncertainty about how to proceed. Fortunately, familiar favorites can always be depended upon to emotionally revive us.
MY TOP TEN NOSTALGIC SUMMER FLICK PICKS (UNRANKED):
Turn up the heat with this saucy story about two unlikely lovers, who know (or learn) how to move in the summer of 1963. When Johnny (Patrick Swayze), a resort dance instructor, becomes desperate for a new performance partner, he accepts Baby’s (Jennifer Grey) help by teaching her fresh choreography. It’s most commonly known for an iconic lift that is successfully performed during the song “(I've Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. That’s not easy choreography either! Trust me, I’ve tried it. In fact, it’s so notoriously challenging that even Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling humorously make the attempt twenty-four years later in the film Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), which you can watch here. More than just a frivolous romance, Dirty Dancing comments on women’s independence, class, tradition (or the lack thereof), etc. It’s an easy pick for anyone celebrating a summer of love.
Growing up is hard. Mood rings and tasseled bicycles provide the aesthetic for this Howard Zieff film as best friends, Vada (Anna Chlumsky) and Thomas J. (Macaulay Culkin), navigate love, self-expression, puberty, death, and new beginnings throughout one 1970s summer. This coming-of-age drama is an emotionally enriching experience that can be shown as a double feature with its sequel entitled My Girl 2 (1994).
Craving an action-packed vacation without leaving the couch? Follow Steven Spielberg and his A-list cast including Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sam Neill, to an island where dinosaurs have artificially overcome extinction and escaped their enclosures. Filmed on the sleepy island of Kauai, Hawaii with Jeep Wrangler getaway cars, this cinematic classic is anything but relaxing. Plus, this sci-fi journey can be extended with The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic Park III (2001), along with its spin-off series, Jurassic World which began in 2015. In fact, the franchise’s most recent release, Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), is coming soon to theaters on June 9th!
For all the graduates out there who feel a little bit lost with their newfound freedom, this 1960s pick may be for you. Ben (Dustin Hoffman) is figuring it out. The transition from college to post-grad life leads him into a seductive affair with the legendary Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), but their relationship becomes complicated when he later falls for her daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross). Its beautiful cinematography matched with the harmonious soundtrack from Simon and Garfunkel should be reasons enough to give it a watch.
Nostalgia is the primary theme of this sci-fi comedy starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, who travels back in time to 1955 in a souped-up DeLorean. His mission: to get his youthful parents back together before he disappears and the present is rewritten forever. Like other films on this list of must-sees, Back to the Future is a trilogy! Follow up the first film with Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Back to the Future Part III (1990). Can’t get enough? Jam out to the Back to the Future: The Musical album by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard that was released this year.
Summer may have come and gone when Danny (John Travolta) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) recount their romantic meeting with their friends at school, but that won’t stop it from being the central topic for the catchy tune “Summer Nights.” Based on the musical from 1972 by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, this pick is guaranteed to provide a boost of dopamine. In fact, it will have you 1950s hand-jiving for weeks once you enroll in Rydell High School and pop the collar on your T-Bird or Pink Ladies leather jacket. To honor the aesthetic, try to catch it at a drive-in if you can.
Perhaps more stylistically quirky than other 1990s films on this list, Joe Versus the Volcano partners Tom Hanks with Meg Ryan in a romantic comedy focused on making the most of the life that you have. Joe (Hanks) discovers he is dying and, thus, agrees to sacrifice himself to a volcano on behalf of an indigenous island community. Until then, he is compensated with a lavish lifestyle. On his journey there, he encounters three unique women, who are each portrayed by Ryan. John Patrick Shanley’s film is most certainly for those who are larger-than-life and ready to seize the day.
Take flight with Tom Cruise as Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in this exciting film about the competitive pilots who attend the Top Gun naval aviation school in Miramar, California. If admiring F-14s with soundtrack contributions from Kenny Loggins is your cup of coffee (watch the film to get this reference), then this just may be your new favorite. Or, if you’re intrigued by the description of topless male actors in a volleyball montage, you may enjoy it just the same. Tony Scott even discusses this iconic scene in the documentary Danger Zone: The Making of ‘Top Gun’ (2004) when he confesses, “I shot the shit out of it and got the guys to take all their gear off. They’re in their pants and [I] sprayed them in baby oil and sweat. I didn’t have a vision about what I was doing other than just doing soft porn.” A new necessary watch is also the sequel that was released today entitled Top Gun: Maverick (2022) which picks up with the beloved characters years later.
Here’s to another movie musical for all the show-tune fans! This modern spin on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was originally produced as a Broadway production in 1957 by Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, and Arthur Laurents. It was later partly directed for the screen by its original choreographer, Jerome Robbins. These dancers are likely to be sweating more than you are this summer as gang tensions run high in numbers like “Cool.” If that doesn’t sell you, the fact that it won the Academy Award for Best Picture might. Plus, Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake also received Academy attention for Ariana DeBose’s performance that earned her Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Regardless of which version you choose, West Side Story proves to be a timeless hit that explores where love and violence converge.
Curious to know why everyone is telling you, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get,” to help you make peace with the world and its surprises? That famous line is from this wholesome film about an underdog who humbly participated in many significant chapters throughout history. Tom Hanks portrays the title character as he recounts his life to the passersby on a bus stop bench. Hanks’ touching performance in this film was even convincing enough to land him the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Knowing what you now know, grab a box of chocolates and settle in.
If none of these fit your fancy, don’t be afraid to investigate these summer bonuses: Footloose (1984), The Karate Kid (1984), Dazed and Confused (1993), or Hair (1979).
Whether you opt for the romance, comedy, sci-fi, action, adventure, or musical genre, nostalgic cinema can take us back to the places, or even summers, we love the most.
So, find a cold drink, pop some popcorn, and beat the heat.
