While the hype of a new semester is exciting and overwhelming, we would all be lying by saying we don’t miss the warm mornings, carefree days, and late nights of our summer break. Spending hours on the lawn has been ruthlessly swapped for hours in the library, lemonade for energy drinks at 2am, and the bops of Billie Eilish for the drone of communication professors.
Fortunately, an easy way to reminisce over this magical time is through the power of cinema. The movie industry loves a good summer flick, so there’s plenty to choose from. Here’s our list of the top five movies when you need to take a second summer break:
1. Summer Comedy: What About Bob?
This 1991 whacky comedy is perfect for anyone who loves over the top conflict, second-hand embarrassment, and Bill Murray. The film revolves around Dr. Marvin, a psychiatrist who just wants to be left alone on his family summer vacation. Unfortunately, his clingy patient Bob wants to tag along. What’s even worse is that Dr. Marvin’s family loves Bob. Will he ever get a break? No. But hey, remember those three months where we got one? That was nice.
2. Summer Romance: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The pants aren’t the only thing that’s magical about this movie. Based on the novel, this film centers around four best friends who are forced to separate during their long awaited summer break. Fortunately, they find a pair of “magic” jeans that seem to fit all of them perfectly. The pants keep them united through divorce, movie making and a lot of new boy problems. Laugh and cry with these strong, fun best friends.
3. Summer Horror: I Know what you did Last Summer
There is absolutely nothing better than a 90s slasher film, and this movie definitely checks all the boxes. Fake blood? Yes. Stupid but cute boys? Yes. Strong yet also somehow kind of ditzy female roles? Definitely. This 1997 hidden gem centers around a group of friends who get stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time during the summer after their senior year. It’s one year later, and someone is out to seek revenge. Can they survive? (Spoiler alert: no, a lot of people die in this. It’s awesome.)
4. Summer Action: Jaws
Possibly the most iconic shark movie of all time, Jaws is packed with Spielberg’s revolutionary cinematography, musical score and gory shark attacks. As the world’s biggest summer blockbuster, the film takes place at Amity Island, a small beach town with mysterious foreign men, really careless leaders and an extremely unrealistically large shark. This movie is the cure for missing your days in the pool. (Fun fact: although the shark took an extremely long time to build, it was so ugly that it is actually rarely seen in the film, creating the infamous shot from the point of view of the shark.)
5. Summer Throwback: Camp Rock
Sorry High School Musical 2 fans, but the Jonas Brothers are taking over summer 2019. This Disney Channel Original Movie (R.I.P.) truly shaped the way most of my generation sees summer camps: inexplicably talented children dancing around, romance with a pop star and the best darn British camp leader the world has to offer. Sing along to your favorite camp songs (Hasta la Vista is a personal favorite), swoon over Nick Jonas and remember the valuable lesson that lying about who you are will always turn everyone against you.
Put those textbooks away, grab yourself a big ol’ bucket of popcorn and sink back into the bliss that is summer vacation.
Story by: Amanda Walton
life@suunews.net
Photos courtesy of Google
