Once more, with feeling

When did it get so damn hot outside? For all of May, I've been happily rocking my jeans and long-sleeve shirts. But now, every time I walk outside I feel like I'm in an oven. Not to mention the fact that the top level of my house has somehow become immune to air conditioning and thus, feels like a sauna. But hey, I don't hate this change in weather. For once in a long time, I'm finally getting the feeling that summer is here.  

In this time of overheating and excessive sweating, I say why not take the party inside and catch up on some really excellent movies. I recently re-watched "The Virgin Suicides" with Vi and fell madly in love once again (hence my love letter to Mr. Fontaine himself below). If you haven't seen that, then high tail it to Videoflicks (or Blockbuster if you must....) and pick up a copy. You won't be sorry. Soon enough you'll be making like Styx and sailing away on a wave of dreamy suburban elation and have completely forgot about how freakin' hot it is outside. 

In honour of what I believe is the beginning of summer, here is a list (as promised from my "Camp" entry) of great summer movies to keep you cool this June.

10)  Vacation 

How can anyone resist this movie? I mean, first off, who doesn't love a little Chevy Chase action? And how about a “Breakfast Club” era Anthony Michael Hall? Even without the amazing B actors, this movie would never fail to please.  For anyone who has taken a long-distance road trip with their family, this movie will hit home so hard that you won't be able to contain your - somewhat nervous - laughter. The other “Vacation” movies are pretty awesome too ("Vegas Vacation" was on last night! I pretty much died of B movie happiness), especially "Christmas Vacation", but nothing can beat the original. So strap on your flip-flops and put on your seatbelt, because with the Griswold clan it's always one heck of a ride. 

9) Aquamarine

Laugh all you want but this movie is really a lot better than you think it is. Sure, it’s cheesy and the plot is a little shaky but it still has the irresistible feel-good summer vibe.  Plus, any movie that features a Teddy Geiger track is cool with me.

8) Man in the Moon


 
This little-known movie is really a gem. It's Reese Witherspoon's first movie but you wouldn't know it. She's so good that she seems like she's had years of experience.  Although she won awards for "Walk the Line" and "Election", both of which are also excellent flicks, I think this is her real award-winning performance. 

The movie is pretty simple. It's about two teen sisters, Dani (Reese) and Maureen (played by Emily Warfield), and their summer romancing the boy next door, Court(played by "Dazed and Confused" own Jason London). Although the love triangle leads the duo on some serious - and sometimes sad -adventures, it isn't what really pulls at the heartstrings in this story. It's the up and down relationship between the two girls that really makes it something special. Watching them talk about everything from first kisses to Elvis Presley you almost feel as though you're there with them on the back porch, waiting for moon to come out and shine the light on their problems. 


7) Dirty Dancing

Having seen this movie rather recently, I can safely say it still remains the classic that you know and love. Patrick Swayze is still smokin’ as Johnny Castle (what a name right there. It’s almost as good as Trip Fontaine. Almost) and Jennifer Grey is still perfect as the ever-neurotic and adorable Baby. How can you not swoon when Baby and Johnny are practicing their lift in the water? It’s movie magic at its campy best. The best moment however, in my opinion, will always be the final scene. No, I’m not talking about the whole “Nobody puts baby in a corner” line or Johnny and Baby’s final dance. I’m talking about the Swayze’s solo dance – complete with a very manly jump off the stage. I can truly say that when I watch that scene again, I too am having the “time of my life”. Sorry, I just had to.

6) Wet Hot American Summer   

I know, I know. This kind of sounds like a low-budget porno but it's actually a mini-masterpiece of comedic genius. The plot takes place over the course of the last day of Camp Firewood’s 1981 summer session.  Pretty much everything you expect to happen over the course of a whole summer at a regular camp happens in one day here– there’s a talent show, there’s a camping excursion, there’s love triangles, there’s a softball completion and that’s not even the half of it. With a cast including the always fabulous and fierce Janeane Garafalo, the perfectly deadpan David Hyde Pierce and everyone’s favourite rando cameo actor Paul Rudd (is there a movie these days that he’s not in for at least 5 seconds?!), you can’t help but wonder why this movie wasn’t a bigger hit. I guess it has to do with the extremely dry and sometimes dark humour that often goes over the general public’s heads.  But if you’re like me and enjoy some extremely intelligent and non-slapstick laughs – think “Arrested Development” - then check this out. And don’t forget to watch the scene after the credits. It’s random perfection.

5) Little Darlings

I remember overhearing an employee at Videoflicks recommend this flick to some 12 year old girls a few years ago and wondering what it was all about. I kind of forgot about it for a while and then stumbled upon it on eBay about a year and half ago. Feeling impulsive, I bought it on the spot. When it came, I realized it was a dubbed copy but I kept it anyways just to check it out. And boy was I ever surprised. It was actually a really excellent movie.

 Starring an overwhelmingly amazing Kristy McNichols, Tatum O’Neil and a very young Matt Dillon, this small-time flick revolves around two girls and their summer competition to lose their virginity. I know it sounds kind of creepy but there is a lot more emotion to the story than you would think. The scene at the boathouse between Angel (McNichol’s bad-ass character) and Randy (Dillon with some sexy feathered locks) is truly heart-breaking. Every time I hear her say, “God I feel so lonesome”, I can’t help but feel completely lost too. Oh Angel, everything’s going to be alright soon. I promise.

While it can be overly cheesy at times, it’s a 80s movie so what would normally seem wrong seems so right in context. Plus, I don’t know about you but I can’t resist a good midsummer food fight scene!

If my rambling hasn’t convinced you, check out this sample piece of dialogue. It’s pure gold.

Angel: Still haven't told me your name yet.
Randy: Oh yeah?
Angel: Yeah.
Randy: It's Randy. Don't let the name fool you.

Oh Randy, you witty fool you!

Note: Look out for a cameo from a very young – and blonde – gasp! – Cynthia Nixon (aka. Miranda Hobbes - aka. me according to my friends) as a hippie girl named Sunshine!

4) Stand By Me

River Phoenix. Corey Feldman. Jerry O’Connell. Kiefer Sutherland. Need I say more?

3) Dazed and Confused

Okay so technically, this movie takes place on the last day of school but it’s such a “hip, hip” movie that I think it would be criminal not put it on this list. Following the lives of a group of high school students and their quest to party, “Dazed and Confused “appears to be nothing more than yet another mindless teen movie. But with a cast including Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey and Ben Affleck, and a rockin’ 70s soundtrack (I will never think of “Sweet Emotion” or “Slow Ride” without thinking about cruising aimlessly down an empty street on a hot summer night), this movie becomes a classic that should not be missed. 

Much like its schools-out predecessor “American Graffiti”, the plot takes place over one night and features a number of stories that meld together by the end – which in this case is one unforgettable bush party. There's really not a lot that happens in the movie as everything is meant to be spontaneous and random but the dialogue that occurs between scenes is classic. Slater's (played by the amazing Rory Cochrane from "Empire Records") stoned observations about how Martha Washington was a "hip, hip lady" and his nerdy "check ya later!"s are the stuff of comic history. And Matthew McConaughey will forever be immortalized by his pervy older character, Wooderson, and his classic quips like “That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age" and “You just gotta keep on livin' man. L-I-V-I-N'."  In fact, I believe he actually uses the "just keep l-i-v-i-n" line as his personal slogan these days! No joke! I saw him wearing a shirt that said "j.k. livin'" in US Weekly. It was not only cooler than life but it was a testament to how groundbreaking "Dazed and Confused" was and continues to be.

What really makes this movie amazing is how much it mirrors what it’s like to be a teenager in the summer. With its carefree and spontaneous tone, “Dazed and Confused” brings you back to a time when all you were looking for was some good times and when scoring sweet concert tickets was the "top priority of the summer". 

P.S – For another post-school party flick that rocks, check out one my personal favourites “Can’t Hardly Wait.” Its fun and features just about everyone you can think of from the 90s teen movie genre (look for a rando cameo from Nick Andopolis himself, Jason Segel, as a watermelon obsessed stoner).

2) Psycho Beach Partyi


Like “Wet Hot American Summer”, this movie has a weird sense of humour and therefore is not everyone’s taste. But if you can appreciate the rude and slightly twisted humour of filmmakers like John Waters then this movie is perfect for you.

I like to think of this movie as “Gidget” meets “Scream”. The film follows a group of teens who are looking for nothing more than the next great wave. Their summer of fun is cut short however when – surprise, surprise – some of their friends start getting killed off one by one in strange and often sick ways. Starring Lauren Ambrose (“Can’t Hardly Wait”, “Six Feet Under”), a pre-“Enchanted” Amy Adams and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”’s very own Nicholas Brendan (my fangirl heart still goes out to Xander and his quick wit), this flick is campy bliss. 

1) My Girl

You may be asking me why this sappy coming-of-age classic is my number one. Two simple words: Thomas Jay. If you don’t fall head-over-heels for Macaulay Culkin’s nerdy lovesick character then there is seriously something wrong with you.  He loves Vada so much you practically feel his pain when she professes her love her English teacher, Bill, early on in the film. But Thomas Jay never gives up, even if it means [SPOILER ALERT!! Move to the next paragraph if you haven’t seen it] risking his life to save her precious mood ring from a swarm of angry bees. I just tear up thinking about it.

Aside from the Culkin factor, this movie still rocks. There are so many classic summer traditions throughout the film that I think it could almost serve as a definition for summer. There’s t he carnival scene, the fourth of July picnic, the bike riding montage, the tree-climbing moment and last but certainly not least, the always perfect dockside jump scene. But what really makes this movie stand out is its emotional core. Amongst the dreamy summer moments there is pain and confusion as Vada begins to move away from her careless tomboy phase and into her teen years. There’s also a serious section of the movie that deals with death and its consequences. Vada and the Sultenfuss (that’s the actual name) clan all live in a funeral parlour therefore providing the characters with lots of opportunity to ponder about passing away. While at some points, Vada’s riffs on the afterlife are pure dark humour (i.e: “I used to like to play with my Ken and Barbie dolls. Ken was my favorite. Then one Christmas I got them a camper and all they wanted to do was hang out in it by themselves. So I wasn't too upset when they took that wrong turn and went over the cliff.”), but things get serious by the end. Just try not to bawl in the final scene as Vada finally lets it all out through a heartbreaking poem.

Honestly though, this movie is not only an excellent summer flick, it’s just a great movie all around. The music is great (don’t lie, you know you know all the words to “My Girl”) and Anna Chlumsky steals every scene as Vada, everyone’s favourite little rebel. I can remember wanting to be Vada when I was little, going as far as to buy a mood ring just like the classic one she wears in the movie. I don’t know where it is now but I’m not going to lie, I kind of wish I still had it. Sigh. While my love of the movie may just be purely nostalgic, this movie is still worth checking out. If you’re anything like me, your experience with “My Girl” will echo Vada’s bittersweet poem. It’ll “always be in your heart”. J

Honorable Mentions: "Private Resort" (an early Johnny Depp flick that he probably hates but I love!), "Camp Nowhere" (Christopher Lloyd minus the time machine and plus a bunch of sneaky kids), "Shag" (a 60s spring break flick from the 80s!), "Meatballs" (Bill Murray + camp = crazy summer shenanigans. Plus, the theme song is pretty amazing - "Are you ready for the summer!?!" Yes we are creepy choir kids, yes we are.)