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Crank the air conditioning and celebrate the arrival of summer with these warm-weather classics.
Jaws (1975)
Enough time has passed for movie- and beachgoers to ditch their fears of going “back in the water” (fears this classic shark tale infamously ignited), but “Jaws” will always keep us mindful of the monstrous things lurking beneath our ocean’s surface, even when the bright July sun insists all is well. Steven Spielberg’s creature feature epitomizes summer not just with its beach-town setting, but with its stance as the original summer blockbuster. Sick of all the million-dollar spectacles at the multiplex? You have a legendary director (and an animatronic Great White) to blame.
Dazed and Confused (1993)
“School’s out for summer!” Alice Cooper screams on the soundtrack to “Dazed and Confused,” a film that will long endure as the ultimate rebellious kickoff to the warm-weather months. Unmistakably set in the 1970s, yet brimming with timeless themes (what teenager isn’t still just driving around with his friends?), the movie also kicked off the careers of A-Listers like Ben Affleck and Matthew McConaughey. We get older, but this movie stays the same age.
The Graduate (1967)
Odds are “Cougar Town” would have never existed without “The Graduate,” Mike Nichols’ quarter-life crisis favorite, starring a then-unkown Dustin Hoffman and a foxy Anne Bancroft. The actors’ characters have a May-December affair, but it all goes down during Ben’s (Hoffman) first summer out of college, when, yes, Mrs. Robinson (Bancroft) indeed tries to seduce him.
Point Break (1991)
Before Kathryn Bigelow was making militaristic Oscar bait, she was cooking up modern classics like this surfer-bank robber thrill ride, which sees Keanu Reeves join forces with an unhinged Patrick Swayze, going undercover for the FBI and engaging in all types of extreme sports in the process. On the agent’s summer agenda? Catching waves, skydiving and taking part in holdups.
The Sandlot (1993)
The baseball movie for viewers who don’t like baseball, this family gem unfolds in the dog days of summer 1962, which become true dog days when a crew of knock-it-out-of-the-park pals becomes the hunted prey of the neighborhood’s fiercest canine. Beautifully nostalgic, “The Sandlot” isn’t a kids movie; it’s a summer essential.
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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