Since most of us should still be quarantining, I’ve curated some of my favorite summer movie. Two of these, I watch every summer without fail. I feel like I’m not truly enjoying summer until I watch them. Two more are timeless favorites that take me back to childhood and one is a new classic. Enjoy!
1) Do The Right Thing
Do The Right Thing takes places in Brooklyn, NY on the hottest day of the summer. It’s filled with tension, political/ social commentary and a look inside a microcosm of culture and community. This is a great watch by yourself or with a group of people. Make sure your sound system is banging. It has one of the greatest anthems of all time.
2) White Man Can’t Jump
This is probably my all time favorite comedy film and definitely in my top 5 basketball films. White Men Can’t Jump takes place on the basketball courts of Venice Beach California. This has some of the greatest one liners of all time. I’ve repeated many of these quote on basketball courts ever since its release. There’s no coincident that both of these two films co-star Rosie Perez
3) Jaws
Jaws was the scariest movie I used to love to watch as a kid. At the time, I was too young to follow the story but I watched it every time it was on TV. Jaws made people afraid to go the beach for years. I urge you to listen to Bill Simmons’s Rewatchable podcast about Jaws. Steven Spielberg’s genius is truly on display here.
4) A League of Their Own
There’s nothing that says summer more than baseball. This all-star cast gives us one of the best performances of the 90’s. A League of their own is an outdoor movie staple. I watched it in DUMBO park a couple of summers ago. Remember when Madonna was a movie star?
5) Girls Trip
Girls Trip should easily be the next movie franchise that should go 8-10 movies deep like Fast & Furious or Police Academy. I could go watch this cast every summer in a new adventure. The fact that this takes place during Essence fest means they new exactly who their audience was which is why this was such a hit. #blackmoviesmatter