Top 10 Summer Movies — Cinema Sugar

10. Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead

Bask in the summertime ruse of this vital ‘90s cinematic classic where a family of California youngsters conspire to hide the passing of their hostile, elderly caregiver, which quickly destroys their adolescent delusion of enjoying the house to themselves with no adults, responsibilities, or cares in the world for an entire summer. The movie is a reverie of business expertise and professional achievement for a teenage girlboss Sue Ellen (played by Christina Applegate) with a killer fashion sense, unfurling with such efficient momentum and sympathy for Applegate as Swell that it’s difficult to handle the real-world connotations of the class consciousness and pecking order at the GAW fashion company. There’s a tinge of that John Hughes-era wizardry (despite zero Hughes involvement) and it’s hard to know how this one would play out for someone from a different generation. But like many warm ‘90s metal comedies of its ilk and era, it’s a sweltering bath of perfectly crafted stupidity for me. —Natalie Bauer (streaming, libraries)

9. Wet Hot American Summer

It rarely comes to mind that I’m watching a spoof when I revisit this movie. Maybe that’s due to my lack of background with the experience of going to summer camp in real life, but there’s a definite atmosphere of depression summarizing all of the tales told here that positions this superior to the more common “to hell with tropes, let’s humble them” attitude of most parodies. These communities (both the narrative one and the moviemaking one) signed up to be marooned in the wilderness as a group for multiple weeks, and every counselor and camper alike appreciated that their days collectively had already been numbered. I love how this distorts both the comforts and anxieties of what summer camp seems to be: vacillating love affairs are concisely displaced by silly expressions of passionate courage per montage, while the damage of rejection is exhibited at the hand of unexpected renderings of dying and desultory cussing (the finest transmittal of foul language in all of cinema, hands down). But the movie enjoys its craziness, convoluting the erratic banter with personality and never changing a thing. The writing uses satire to propel every interplay, upsetting camp friendships at each random gag line. It’s a trusted style of setting development, and appropriate as to this cast of characters Camp Firewood is basically the whole world as they know it. —Natalie Bauer (streaming, libraries)

8. Now and Then

When I think about the summers of my childhood I think of Now and Then, the flashback coming-of-age movie about four friends that reunite in their thirties. The present day (mid ‘90s) friends—played by Rosie O’Donnell, Rita Wilson, Demi Moore, and Melanie Griffith—remember back to the summer of 1970, which features treehouses, first kisses, Red Rover, skinny dipping, tin-can telephones, and a ‘70s soundtrack that slaps. Beyond being brilliantly nostalgic, what makes this movie really special is how it shows so many different facets of friendship for both children and adults. —Natalie Pohorski (streaming, libraries)

7. In the Heights

The magic of this film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s stage musical is how it lovingly captures both the good and challenging touchstones of summer in the city. We see the cast venturing to raucous parties at the public pool (“96,000”) and nightclub (“The Club”) and apartment courtyard (“Carnaval del Barrio”), ambling around town (“Breathe”, “When You’re Home”), and just going about their summer days (“In the Heights”). But we also see a heat-induced fever dream (“Paciencia y Fe”) and neighborhood-wide power outage (“Blackout”) that exacerbates character tensions almost as much as the humidity. But ultimately this is a joyous celebration of the season’s openness and possibility, as seen through one unique neighborhood and its people. The hydrants are open, cool breezes blow… —Chad Comello (streaming, libraries)

6. The Sandlot

If you grew up in the ‘90s, The Sandlot was everything. Not only because of its ragtag cast of characters, unforgettable scenes, and endlessly quotable dialogue—but because chances are your summers looked a lot like theirs. Tramping around the neighborhood with few restrictions other than to be home by dinner; stirring the pot of gossip about that mysterious house on the block; going out of your way to catch a glimpse of your crush at the public pool. To this day, the image of them running down their suburban street lit up by firecrackers remains an aspirational vibe I seek every Fourth of July. Don’t be a goofus: fire up The Sandlot for all the summertime vibes. —Kevin Prchal (streaming, libraries)

5. Call Me By Your Name

Call Me By Your Name provides one of the most visceral summer experiences in film today. You can taste the apricots and the soft-boiled eggs. You can hear the gravel crunching under the bike tires. And you can feel the angst and tension of first love, or something like it. Elio’s parents host a graduate student, Oliver, for the summer to work alongside his father. Elio shows Oliver about the small northern Italy town they live in and they start to explore their feelings towards each other. Outside of the magnetic pairing, Michael Stuhlbarg delivers an incredible monologue of fatherly wisdom, and music by Sufjan Stevens puts the cherry on top of this dripping, perfectly indulgent summer sundae. —Natalie Pohorski (streaming, libraries)

4. Stand By Me

A genuine snapshot of adolescence, a heartfelt depiction of friendship, and a refreshing slug of fond summer memories, Stand By Me is a magnificently forged coming-of-age film that still ranks among the greatest archetypes of its genre, and honorably so. Full of earnest portrayals from its budding and tremendous actors, the movie’s true power rests in the precise equilibrium it achieves in all of its various filmmaking facets and the method in which it seizes those moments that nostalgia is formed around. Rooted in a Stephen King novella and voiced in recollection by an author narrating a final schoolboy summer adventure after hearing of a local boy’s death by train, the movie is set in the town of Castle Rock and involves a band of four preteen boys who depart on a trek beyond the back roads to locate the lost remains of a dead kid for the sake of becoming small-town heroes. The journey ends up being a transformative ordeal for them as they come to understand more about themselves, the essence of companionship, and the inherent obligation to advocate for what’s right. —Natalie Bauer (streaming, libraries)

3. Rear Window

“You’d think the rain would’ve cooled things down. All it did was make the heat wet.” That line from Thelma Ritter’s Stella tells you exactly how the characters in Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece thriller are feeling as they go about their non-air-conditioned lives in an intimate apartment complex. And the man spying on them all—Jimmy Stewart’s Jeff—probably has it the worst, being stuck in a wheelchair with an itchy leg cast and full-body pajamas as things heat up around him (the temperature and murder mystery, yes, but also the incandescent Grace Kelly). This isn’t a summer movie I’d want to vacation in, but the sweltering claustrophobia of its single confined location makes it a necessary classic of the urban summer cinema canon. —Chad Comello (streaming, libraries)

2. Do the Right Thing

What’s more challenging than racism in America? Racism in America on the hottest day of the year. Set on a Brooklyn block in the late 1980s, Spike Lee’s seminal film Do the Right Thing presents a melting pot of American identities, each bluntly and boldly examined. The film follows Mookie (played by Lee) who delivers pizzas for the local joint Sal’s, run by Sal (in an Oscar nominated performance by Danny Aiello) and his two sons. With the restaurant being in a predominantly black neighborhood, tensions rise when a group of patrons notice the restaurant’s Wall of Fame includes pictures of famous Italians including Frank Sinatra and Robert De Niro, but not a single black person. Tensions continue to rise until it boils over in an intense and soul-shaking climax that all too closely mirrors events in recent years. In the end, the film gives us two competing philosophies on how to move forward: One of non-violence courtesy of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr., and one of “Fight the Power” courtesy of Dr. Malcolm X. So what exactly is the right thing to do? That depends on which philosophy you align with. But while you’re pondering, don’t forget to soak in the immaculate summer vibes including (but not limited to) a fire hydrant fight, Samuel L. Jackson in a Hawaiian shirt and bucket hat, and a red-hot opening dance sequence from the inimitable Rosie Perez. Over 30 years later, Do the Right Thing is where it’s at—and that’s the double truth, Ruth. —Kevin Prchal (streaming, libraries)

1. Jaws

Not only is Jaws the quintessential summer movie—it literally invented the summer blockbuster. Lines spanning city blocks to see it, millions of vacationers afraid to get in the water, dethroning The Godfather as box office king after just 78 days in theaters. It was a sensational moment in film history that studios and audiences have been chasing ever since. That feeling of fear, awe, adventure, spectacle. The kind of film that jolts the senses and reminds you why you fell in love with movies in the first place; that gives you everything a movie has to give yet somehow leaves you wanting more. In the hands of any other director, it could have been a cheap exploitation film lost to time. But like everything Spielberg touches, it’s infused with such a childlike wonder and God-given talent that even today (nearly 50 years later) it’s impossible to look away from. So for Quint’s sake, lather on the SPF 50, dust off that bucket hat and run for your life because Jaws ain’t leaving its #1 post anytime soon. —Kevin Prchal (streaming, libraries)