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An Ode to the Summer Movie

I went to the movies for the first time this week since the onset of COVID-19. I was really excited to see the movie, something that hasn’t happened in a while, since I’ve been spoiled by the number of streaming services and the outrageous access I’ve received to movies at home. I felt like one of the adults in my life growing up: “why would I take you to get the ice cream when we have a gallon in the freezer at home?”

Because sometimes you want to have a soft serve on a cone with sprinkles, that’s why. Or in this case, you want a movie with movie theater popcorn and the chance to be in the same theater as others, even strangers included, experiencing the same film.

I’ve talked to others in my life about this, and it seems like it’s not just me experiencing this. A lot of really exciting movies are out, and people want to see them – Barbenheimer aside.

It got me thinking about our favorite summer movies. It feels like it should be a genre. You have the summer action flick, the blockbuster movie, the romcom, and then the movies that just feel like summer. We’ve got a new Indiana Jones, a Pixar standby, a Nolan film, and an indie comedy, just to round it out. I used to wait patiently for the Entertainment Weekly summer movie guide to arrive in my mailbox so I could earmark what I wanted to see.

We conducted a highly scientific study* to find out your summer favorites. What feels like summer? What holds summer memories? Here they are below.

“Rear Window. Top 10 favorite movies of all time. It is SO good. But watch the OG version.”

“Adventureland because of the nostalgic summer feeling and near-perfect soundtrack.”

“The Great Outdoors! (Oldie)”

“Barbie!”

“The Lost Boys, or any summer camp slasher films.”

“The Parent Trap. Most of my childhood personality was based off that movie, like wearing blue nail polish and learning to play poker.”

“Almost Famous for me! Feels very summer vacation adventure to me.”

Two movies were referenced more than the others: Jaws and Dirty Dancing.

Other submissions include: Now and Then, Lilo and Stitch, and The Notebook.

*Via our Instagram account and Slack channels, of course.

What are your favorite summer movies? Comment below!