Summer is a great time for movies.
Summer movies are designed to do a lot of things, as all movies are. But the great thing about a lot of summer movies is that they offer up the type of enjoyment that one doesn’t soon forget. Even if a person disdains the movies and only sees one per year or less, it’s fair to state that if they were to watch a summer movie they wouldn’t forget it for years to come. After all, a lot of summer movies are spectacles that are meant to last for a while, and others are heartwarming stories that affect people in ways that they don’t fully understand until later on when the main point of the story has hit them fully and without warning. There are a lot of different opinions out there on what constitutes the best summer movie, but it’s fair to state that at least a few on this list will meet with the agreement of many as being some of the best that have been released over the years.
With that in mind, here are ten of the best summer movies of all time.
10. Weekend at Bernie’s
Eighties comedy movies were notorious for being ridiculous, stupid, and filled with the type of humor that’s considered to be in poor taste. But like it or not, this is what helped to make them so great back in the day, even if they were corny as hell. The idea that two mildly to fairly intelligent guys would be able to fool everyone into thinking that their corrupt boss was still alive over the course of a weekend is, of course, ridiculous. But the hijinks and hilarious way that this movie was executed are enough to make it a fond memory for a lot of people. Even dumb movies can gain the type of notoriety that many movies try to create. Weekend at Bernie’s is one of the classics, no matter what anyone says, but it’s true that the movie was kind of dumb, and that the sequel was worse. Still, it’s good for a laugh.
9. Summer School
It’s kind of likely that a lot of people don’t remember this movie since it wasn’t the biggest production of its time. But back in the day, Mark Harmon was actually a funny guy, much unlike what he became during his NCIS days. The simple story of a class of rejects that was forced to attend summer school for various reasons is easy enough to get behind. Not only that, it’s relatable in a lot of ways. Sure, a teacher would get fired immediately for running a classroom in this fashion, but the fact is that Harmon’s character still showed a great deal of growth from point A to B in this movie, as did the students. It’s pretty funny as well.
8. The Sandlot
If a person doesn’t know about The Sandlot then it’s time to let them in on the well-known secret that this is one of the best baseball/summer movies of all time. Not only does it have a great cast, it has one of the best catchphrases of all time. Baseball has been an American pastime for as long as anyone can remember, and it’s one of those things that doesn’t appear to change that often at this level. The love of the game, the simplicity of it, and the fact that friends can be made in the strangest ways are just a few things this movie showcases. But this is still one of the best of them:
7. My Girl
Yeah, this was kind of a sad story since Thomas ended up dying and teaching Vada an even bigger lesson about life that she already knew but didn’t fully recognize. The fact of this movie though is that it showed a lot of us what life is about when you’re a kid, and how little any of us really understood it when we were there. Admit it, death was an abstract concept that we saw, understood, but didn’t fully comprehend back in those days. But above all, Vada was the type of girl that a lot of guys wanted to run with since she was more like one of the guys until she started to figure out her life as a young lady. It kind of reminds a lot of us that life is fleeting, and to enjoy it fully while we’re in those moments.
6. The Great Outdoors
In the end, there was a point to this movie and it was that family endures through pretty much anything if one allows it to. But up until that touching, heartwarming point, Roman and Chet didn’t get along at all. For one thing, Roman was the type of slick hustler that some folks can identify with and some just want to use for punting practice. Chet on the other hand is the guy that likes things old-fashioned but is at least willing to slowly come around to a new way of thinking. In other words, they were polar opposites that needed a reason to like each other.
5. Dazed and Confused
Some folks these days think that this is an odd and even disquieting movie since the hazing is a little rough and the idea that any of this happened is tough to believe. Those of us that grew up in or just after this period of time though know a little too well that it was real, and either enjoy the memories it brings or are damned glad that those days are over. Then again, it’s fair to think that back then the way things were still trumps the way things are today. Life was a little simpler at least, right?
4. Jaws
Even back in the day the shark, Bruce, was fake as hell, but the implication of what was going on was horrifying. Think about it, a man-eating shark that can move in and out of heavily populated waters and munch on anyone that’s not quick enough to get the hell out of the water. That’s absolutely horrifying since it reminds people how woefully ill-equipped they are to take on any facet of nature. But it also had a seriously big drawback, since it painted a target on the fins of all sharks, as they were made out to be nothing but killers. Thankfully cooler heads have prevailed over the years, but shark movies are still insanely scary at their core.
3. Stand By Me
Considering that this is a Stephen King story one might have expected it to be a jaw-dropping horror that would have scared the hell out of people. But this proves that a master of horror can turn in more than one type of story since the truth is that this movie was touching, funny, and definitely relatable in a lot of ways. Plus, a lot of people are still floored to think that Jerry O’Connell was once a fat kid.
2. The Way, Way Back
It’s not a regular thing to see Steve Carell as the antagonist in a movie, but he did a pretty good job in this one as Trent, the boyfriend of the main character’s mom. Sam Rockwell, on the other hand, has been a lovable goofball in a few movies and was the perfect mentor for young Duncan in this story. Not only that, but it feels accurate to state that a lot of kids can relate to Duncan’s story since being an awkward kid whose parents are divorced is, unfortunately, not uncommon.
1. Dirty Dancing
Yes, this is a chick flick, and yes, it’s about dancing and relationships. But it was Patrick Swayze at his best, and Jennifer Grey was one of the hottest actresses of the time. She kind of ruined that by getting a nose job, but that’s her decision, so oh well. But this movie turned out to be one of the hottest ever made and there’s no shame in saying so since it was fun, it was comical in the right spots, and it was meaningful the entire way through.
WTR? (Why’s That Radass?)
Movies remind of us good times and memories that we don’t want to lose, and the best summer movies of all time are those that give us the warm, tingly feelings that are easy to treasure. It’s true that a lot of people would no doubt list other movies that are the best of all time, but one opinion is always going to differ from another. What other movies can people think of? It’d be great to compare notes.
