Bask in the heat from these films
Get ready for the lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer. The season of beachside merriment officially started Thursday. And what better way for the pop culture-obsessed to celebrate than by hiding out in a well-air-conditioned space and binge-watching some sunny movies? We picked five of our favorites that will give you that summertime feeling without making you go outside.
If you view summer as more of a metaphor ‘(500) Days of Summer’
This Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel rom-com has plenty of summery motifs, from Deschanel’s relentlessy peppy wardrobe to the musical number. But the “Summer” in the title refers to Deschanel’s manic pixie nightmare of a character, who shares a relationship with Tom (Gordon-Levitt) that doesn’t always work out. As the narration tells you, it’s not a love story but a story about love. ❚
Stream it on HBO Go/Now. If someone ever tried to put you in a corner ‘Dirty Dancing’
There’s nothing hotter, sweatier or packed with better moves than “Dirty Dancing,” the summer classic about a sheltered rich girl (Jennifer Grey) and a wrong-side-of-the-tracks dance instructor (Patrick Swayze). No matter how many times you watch Baby and Johnny pull off that lift to “Time of My Life,” it never gets less magical. ❚
Stream it on Amazon Prime. ‘American Graffiti’
Before he directed “Star Wars,” George Lucas headed this fun little flick about a group of teenagers spending one last night together before heading off to college. Starring young up-andcomer Harrison Ford and Opie from “The Andy Griffith Show” (aka Ron Howard), the movie has become a cult classic ode to the dog days of summer.
Rent or buy it on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.
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If summer reminds you of friendship ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’
Ugly Betty, Rory Gilmore, Joan of Arcadia and Serena van der Woodsen all got together and shared a pair of pants one summer. Sort of. This early 2000s teen classic stars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, Amber Tamblyn and Blake Lively as a group of friends spending the summer apart but who stay in touch by shipping a pair of magic pants (they fit all four girls despite their wildly different body types) across the world. Part rom-com, part coming of age story, it perfectly captures the uncertainty of adolescence and the questionable fashion choices of 2005.
Rent or buy it on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.
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If summer makes you scream: ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’
Nothing like some goosebumps and chills to keep you cool over the summer. This time capsule of 1990s goodness stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Ryan Phillippe as teens who are haunted by a killer after their involvement in a fatal accident. Come for the screams, stay for the ’90s nostalgia.
Rent or buy it on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.
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