Movies that Speak Summer

Some movies capture summer so perfectly you can feel the sticky, humid heat and smell the barbecue along with lake water or briny ocean air. By no means is this a definitive list of movies that take place in summer, but these are some of my favorites (all of which are available at the library):

• American Graffiti  School's out and there's not much to do in a pre-tech, pre-internet world than ride around in your car and hang out with your friends at the burger joint. See a young Harrison Ford before he became big in Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
• Dirty Dancing  A lakeside cabin at a family resort in New York's Catskill Mountains. A summer romance between a hunky dance instructor and a cute girl wanting to change the world in the turbulent 1960s. Expect both the expected and the unexpected.
• Jaws  The early classic of Steven Spielberg that made and continues to make people afraid of going into the water. A bigger boat is always a good idea.
• Mamma Mia  Plenty of shorts, dresses, bathing suits, beautiful Greek islands, and ABBA music to accompany the story of a young woman who invited her three potential fathers to her wedding. A guaranteed feel-good movie with a stellar cast including Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, and others.
• Mystic Pizza  A group of girls having summer jobs at a local pizza parlor in Connecticut have fun, make mistakes, and learn about relationships in this 1980s favorite featuring a young Julia Roberts.
• Rear Window  You can feel the steamy summer in New York City while watching this Alfred Hitchcock classic. A photographer with a broken leg is confined to his apartment, spies on his neighbors through his window, and finds out more than is good for him.
• A River Runs Through It  Summer in 1920s Missoula, Montana means church, family, socials, and fly fishing--lots of it--against the background of beautiful big sky country. Directed by Robert Redford, starring Brad Pitt, and based on the semi-autobiographical book by Norman Maclean.

Do you have some favorite movies set in summer? Share with us!

Wishing you happy movie-watching from the perch.