Lyndsey’s Top 5 Movies That Capture the Spirit of Summer

After weeks of pouring over lecture notes and banging out papers, school is (more or less) out for summer, and, holy crap, you’ve got some free time on your hands.

You could spend it wisely by volunteering for Habitat for Humanity or fully exploring James Joyce’s literary canon or doing some other douchey bullsh*t that people who fancy themselves to be exceptional individuals would do, OR, you could kick off summer properly by cracking a beer and watching Lyndsey’s Top 5 Movies That Capture The Spirit Of Summer. As my name is in the title of the list, I think we all know what I’ll be doing.

Pass the PBR, bitch.

Dazed and Confused

Dazed and Confused is every great summer of my life, captured on film. Set in the 1970s on the last day of school at Robert E. Lee High, freshman, seniors, jocks, and nerds alike breeze through the day, interacting with each other and hanging out in a way that only people who have experienced summer in a small town can appreciate.

Funny and honest, insightful and hopeful, this endearingly life-affirming movie perfectly captures the vibe of summer vacation, and culminates in a dusk-till-dawn party that makes you never want to age past 22.

Wet Hot American Summer

In conducting research on the Internet for the purpose of writing this article, I discovered that a lot of people really hate on this movie. But a lot of people are, incidentally, turd-burglars. Set in the summer of 1981, Wet Hot follows the misadventures of the campers and counselors of Camp Firewood on the last day of the season. Starring Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, and a host of other people that you’d recognize but you have no idea what their names are, this movie is totally absurd, totally hilarious, and totally made me love Detective Stabler even more than I did before. Don’t miss the deleted scenes; they complete the viewing experience.

Kids

Violent? Yes. Disturbing? Absolutely. But while this film following a day in the life of a hodgepodge crew of skater kids features some seriously f*cked up scenes, (including the devirginization of multiple less-than-willing young girls and a brutal beatdown by skateboard) watching Kids is an undeniably visceral experience that even those who have never, say, shoplifted malt liquor or huffed nitrous oxide can relate to. From the shots of the protagonists watching skate videos and smoking weed in a cramped apartment, to coasting around Washington Square Park, to breaking in to a rooftop pool for a late night swim, Kids reeks of the perceived invincibility of youth and has a constant vibe of anticipation that I will forever associate with the summers of my formative years.

The Graduate

Any movie in which the soundtrack consists of the same three Simon and Garfunkel songs over and over is a movie worth watching. Featuring a young Dustin Hoffman as the angsty recent college grad Benjamin Braddock and Anne Bancroft as the OG cougar Mrs. Robinson, this cinematic classic is all about sex, complicated relationships, and trying to figure out what the hell people want from their lives. Slightly dramatic, mostly hilarious, the film’s California setting and the perpetually irresponsible behavior of the protagonist are guaranteed to get you all geared up for summery misbehavin’.

Pulp Fiction

The definition of cool. Part drama, part comedy, part mystery, part action, completely badass, Pulp Fiction is awesome anytime, but somehow I feel the engaging, scene-shuffled plot and the unique present day/retro hipness of the film are best suited to muggy summer evenings on the couch with the windows open. Or maybe I just feel that way because that’s how it was the first time I watched it. We were at my friend’s house and right as Uma Thurman is served her $5 shake at Jack Rabbit Slim’s my friend’s dad walked in with a tray of steaming chocolate shakes for us.

God I love summer.