Our Favorite Summer Rom-Coms
We rave about '500 Days of (Hot Girl) Summer', 'Grease', and more.
It’s August, baby. As summer winds down, we’re a little weepy about it — but glad to maybe stop sweating! In this issue, we’ve decided to treat you with some of our very favorite summer rom-coms. You should forward this email to your old summer fling. Hey you, you’ll write, hair blowing in the wind. Remember when life was like this?
Occasionally, the term “rom-com” is used loosely. We still debate this. What is a rom-com? What qualifies one? It’s all very existentialist, or very Jean-Paul Sartre, if you’re pretentious. Anyways. Before summer comes to a sweeping halt, here are the best summer rom-coms:
1. The Mamma Mias
Going to keep this one short. We don’t want to spoil anything… but keep an eye on our next issue. Clearly both Mamma Mia movies take the cake, when it comes to summer rom-coms. But they deserve more than just a blurb.
2. 500 Days of Summer
girl is he that funny
Annabelle: Listen, if you watched this movie growing up and didn’t constantly flip between identifying as the Summer or the Tom in your adolescent relationships unsure if we can talk. So many iconic now-cliches were created as a result of this movie. If you haven’t watched it do so, and call me. Serious.
Fletcher: Man, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is downright terrifying in this movie. Get a job! Stay away from her! Getting ahead of myself here. If you like sundresses and summery music, went through an indie phase, and have yearned over the same person for 2+ years, it’s probably because you watched 500DOS when you were an adolescent. It’s a summer staple. Probably because it has “Summer” in the title — which is misleading, actually.
3. Adventureland
kristen stewart with the creator of facebook
Annabelle: The movie version of the inevitable carnival episode that happens in every hour teen drama and who doesn’t want to indulge in that? One of Zuck’s better roles (after Rio) and surprisingly a summer romcom that does not star children or high schoolers! This paired with the fact that the costumes alone were responsible for the early 2010s ringer tee surge? Let’s bring those back- Michael Cera seems lost, stylistically.
Fletcher: Mark Zuckerberg and Bella Swan catching a summer job at an amusement park? Bill Hader? Such an epic ensemble cast. This movie smells like sweaty kids and it’s probably unbearable to watch during the COVID crisis (girl, are you going to wash those water guns?) but it’s kind of underrated. You’ll miss roller coasters. Pair with a grape popsicle.
4. The To Do List
Fletcher: Watching Aubrey Plaza write herself a bubble-lettered sex to do list with neon sharpies was a formative experience for me. I’m a list maker. I like to cross things off. I’m also a fan of colored sharpies. This movie is really slept on, even though it’s one of my favorite rom-coms of all time. Bill Hader is in this too.
5. Grease
Annabelle: While this *technically* does not take place during the summer the overly dramatic, nasally belt of the final “NIIII-HIGHTS” at the end of Summer Nights is enough to qualify it alone. Beauty school drop-out is one of my top 10 favorite music videos and this film unintentionally set the bar for a wave of movie musicals to come. And don’t get me started on the powerhouse that is Rizzo. Remember “Grease Live!”?
6. High School Musical 2
spent hours scouring justice catalogs for this exact tankini
Annabelle: Super pissed that when I was 16 me and my hot boyfriend and all of our dance-happy friends didn’t get hired at the rich twin’s country club for the summer. The songs, the sets, the way that this was even better than the first, it all adds up. Maybe “T as in Troy” can be our “Always.”
Fletcher: To me, the real rom-com here is between Mr. Ryan Evans and Mr. Chad Danforth. “I Don’t Dance” is such a flirtatious bit, something you would definitely sing with a summer fling. Swapping clothes? Mhm. That’s all I have to say here.
7. The Parent Trap
Annabelle: Okay, where are my only children of divorced parents at? How badly did we all wish for this exact outcome to happen? I was a young Hallie yearning to find my long-lost Elizabeth James. Honestly? Still am. (I’m an ENFP).
8. Wet Hot American Summer
sir paul rudd
Annabelle: Not going to lie to you all, loyal subscribers, I was super high when I watched this. Or I must have been, because I remember next to nothing about this except that Paul Rudd is in it and every time he came on-screen I thought to myself: “Is that Paul Rudd?” Needless to say, this movie is stimulating as hell.
Fletcher: Definitely not a traditional rom-com, but with an ensemble of summery romances and campy humor (both literally and stylistically, I guess), it’s pretty much the same thing. I have always, always wanted to attend a camp like this. My best friend Eli says this was based on his Jewish summer camp. He’s so cool. I want to have a big summer bonfire with Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Molly Shannon, and Eli. We’ll gossip about our crushes, maybe watch a few episodes of Hot Ones, etc.
9. Splash & Aquamarine
Fletcher: I miss pools. I miss beaches. These two mermaid movies share a part of my heart, because mermaids are pretty cool when they’re not used as a creepy horror device. (Is The Lighthouse a rom-com?) Tom Hanks plays the best version of Tom Hanks — a casual, single, NYC fella looking for love — in Splash, and Daryl Hannah is so mystical and brilliant. And who doesn’t love Aquamarine? I recommend these as a summer rom-com double feature.
10. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Fletcher: First of all, tag yourself as one of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants girls. I’m definitely a Tibby. I feel so bad for America Ferrera in this movie — she has the worst summer ever. But all the other girls get to do some pretty cool stuff. Costas is so dreamy. Best use of “Unwritten” in a film — again, I miss beaches.
Honorable Mentions:
Y Tu Mamá También
Annabelle: FINE, we can argue about whether or not this is a rom-com, but romance happens and also I laughed watching it so, explain that. Unironically love this movie. Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal are prime 2001 horny thruple representation and I love it. Also, I’m an asshole, so I had to include a foreign film on this list, sorry. At least be grateful that I didn’t bring up the fact that I speak three languages.
La La Land
Annabelle: While not technically a summer setting it’s set in LA so, basically, same thing. This was a very formative movie for teen Annabelle and honestly? Still is. Not a day goes by where I don’t yearn for this- I have both intentionally and accidentally based the blueprint for my future on the ending what-could-have-been sequence. Tag yourself. I’m a Seb because one time I cried when my friends took me to a jazz club in Montreal (Hi Finn and Colin!) and also I’m a sell-out.
Palm Springs
Fletcher: This was originally pretty high on my list, but I just rewatched it and found out it’s actually set in November. Okay, whatever. It’s a summer rom-com to me, because when else would you want to watch this? They’re in pizza beach floats. As if I’m going to watch a movie with pizza beach floats in November. Such a fun movie, though. I liked when they do shrooms and watch dinosaurs. Were those real?
this is so good *clapping emoji, clapping emoji*