I love summer.  I wish it were summer all year long.  School is out, the beach, vacations, what’s not to love? I went to summer camp(s) every single summer growing up (and was even a counselor when I got older).  Summer is my jam and that is why I made a movie guide featuring movies that take place during summer.  I feel like I am missing a few important ones though.  Please comment if you have a favorite summer movie I didn’t include.

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Now and Then

One of my favorite movies of all time, this film follows four friends as they navigate the summer between childhood and becoming teenagers.

The girls experience puberty changes, crushes, parents divorcing, etc while also attempting to solve a local mystery. The beginning and the end of the movie show the friends reuniting as adults.  There is a lot of star power in this female-driven movie.

The Parent Trap (the original – obviously)

I’m sure this movie has already made one of my previous movie guides but it definitely fits as a summer movie too.   

Identical twins (who didn’t know each other existed) meet at summer camp and decide to switch places to learn more about the parent they didn’t grow up with.  Unfortunately, the dad is about to marry a horrible woman so the twins devise a plan to get their parents back together.

Heavyweights

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to include this movie because it is kind of terrible.  But if you know how ridiculous the movie is before watching it, it could be a fun family movie. 

The plot is that fat kids get sent to summer camp to lose weight.  Previously, this camp used to be lots of fun with go-karts, snacks hidden in cabins, etc but the new owner has changed everything. 

Ben Stiller stars as the new fitness fanatic camp leader and wants to whip the campers into shape to beat a neighboring camp in an annual competition.  Keep in mind that this is a typical Ben Stiller movie in which he is basically the same character he plays in “Dodgeball”.

The Sandlot

Again, a movie that has already made a previous movie guide but what else says summer like a sandlot baseball team?

A rag-tag group of friends spends the summer playing baseball, going to the fair, having treehouse sleepovers, and trying to help out the new kid get a precious baseball back from The Beast (a menacing dog).

Dirty Dancing

A teen goes on vacation to an upscale resort with her family.  The girl falls for the resort’s hunky dance instructor and takes private lessons from him to help out his regular dance partner who has a scheduling problem with one of their performances. 

Hiding her new relationship from her parents is exciting until her dad finds out and demands she stop hanging out with “those people”.  The final dance of the season brings the summer to a close.

What About Bob?

If you need a laugh or some new movie lines to quote, this is the movie for you.

Richard Dreyfuss stars as a psychiatrist just about to get the fame he craves with the publicity of his book Baby Steps.  The doctor takes on a new patient (Bill Murray) who ends up following/stalking the doctor and his family on their summer vacation.

Dazed and Confused

As school lets out for the summer, the film follows a group of teens for the rest of the afternoon and night as they contemplate their futures. 

A major plotline of the movie is upperclassmen hazing the incoming freshman.  Drinking, smoking weed, and taking on authority are some of the night’s goals for the students (alright, alright, alright).

The Notebook

The ultimate love story.  A rich girl is spending her summer on a family vacation and falls for the local poor boy.  The girl’s parents don’t mind a summer romance but don’t see a future for this couple. When the couple breaks up each takes different paths but never forgets about one another.  Will circumstances ever work in their favor?

The Great Outdoors

John Candy and Dan Aykroyd star in this family film. 

A dad takes his family on a summer vacation to relax up north in Wisconsin but it gets crashed by his annoying in-laws.  The brothers-in-law start to compete over every little thing and a series of mini-disasters threatens to ruin the trip.

My Girl

A young girl is on the verge of puberty growing up without her mother.  She has a fascination with death especially given that her father runs a funeral business inside their home.  The summer is spent hanging out with her best friend and taking a writing course.  Warning – watch with Kleenex.

Wet Hot American Summer

I have a love/hate relationship with this cult classic. I am not sure how to describe the film except that is a satire about the last day of camp.  Set in the ’80s the camp counselors go a little wild.

Need more movie recommendations? Check out my wedding season movie guide.