--- title: "The 50 Best Summer Movies ..." description: "Dirty Dancing (1987); Jaws (1975); Weekend at Bernie’s (1989); Summer Holiday (1963); The Seven Year Itch (1955); More ..." url: "https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/the-best-summer-movies/" category: "movies" last_updated: "2026-06-02" --- # The 50 Best Summer Movies ... Ah summer. The heat. The beach. School’s out. Surf’s up. It’s easier to smile. It’s easier to laugh. Love is found and lost. Vacations are memorable. But then the heat makes blood boil and there’s murder and mayhem. Love perhaps finds a wrong course. It’s all captured in the best summer movies. Here they are - in no particular order: ## 1. Dirty Dancing (1987) The Houseman family takes a trip to Kellerman’s resort, but Baby (Jennifer Grey) is more interested in dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/dirty-dancing/id217821076) ## 2. Jaws (1975) It’s summer. And there’s an unwelcome visitor in the waters off Amity Island. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/jaws/id526768967) ## 3. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989) Two nerds uncover their boss’s embezzlement. Cue the beach house, a dead body and some mobsters. And a lot (and I mean a lot) of laughs. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/weekend-at-bernies/id347755463) ## 4. Summer Holiday (1963) Cliff Richard and gang head across Europe in a converted double decker London bus. Buy at [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com?ref=allwomenstalk.com) ## 5. The Seven Year Itch (1955) Businessman Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell) packs off the wife and kids to the coast, only to get the hots for his new neighbour, known only as The Girl (Marilyn Monroe). Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-seven-year-itch/id271066629) ## 6. The Parent Trap (1998) Whether it’s Hayley Mills or Lindsay Lohan, the story of separated twins finding each other is a charm. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-parent-trap-1998/id202239124) ## 7. Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) Two bored and horny teenagers (Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna) talk a hot older woman (Maribel Verdú) into traveling with them to an exotic beach. The catch? They've made it up. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/y-tu-mama-tambien/id571312202) ## 8. Stand by Me (1986) The kids are off school and there’s a dead body to be seen. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/stand-by-me/id263821729) ## 9. Summertime (1955) Katharine Hepburn stuns as a teacher on a trip of a lifetime to Venice. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/summertime/id481585752) ## 10. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) A vacation opportunity of a lifetime. A threesome in the steamy heat of Barcelona. Buy at _itunes.apple.com_ ## 11. The Great Outdoors (1988) Chalk-and-cheese in-laws - easygoing Chet Ripley (John Candy) and snobbish Roman Craig (Dan Akroyd) - are forced to share a camping holiday. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://web.archive.org/web/https://itunes.apple.com/gb/movie/the-great-outdoors/id292883406) ## 12. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) Summer camp as only Wes Anderson knows how. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://goo.gl/UNZ1TB) ## 13. The Graduate (1967) It’s Benjamin’s last summer before he enters the real world after graduating college. What will occupy him? Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://goo.gl/AZNhQx) ## 14. Les Vacances De M. Hulot (1953) M. Hulot (Jacques Tati) gets in his car and drives to the seaside, where every effort to chill out ends in disaster. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/monsieur-hulots-holiday/id916988253) ## 15. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) Teens start getting death threats from a hook-handed fisherman who witnessed last year’s unfortunate hit-and-run accident. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/i-know-what-you-did-last-summer/id277058989) ## 16. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) A road trip with a difference. A coke sniffing granddad, a failed business man, an attempted suicide, a beauty pageant, a kid who's given up talking and a VW camper van. Enough said. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/little-miss-sunshine/id287984473) ## 17. Caddyshack (1980) Students like Danny Noonan (Michael O’Keefe) take jobs caddying at Bushwood Country Club, but their eyes are on the women rather than the green. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://goo.gl/6DwMlT) ## 18. Betty Blue (1986) Casual work and casual sex by the beach for Jorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade) when he meets Betty (Beatrice Dalle). Buy at _itunes.apple.com_ ## 19. American Graffiti (1973) Youth and Rock and Roll. It’s 1962. It’s the last summer before leaving for college. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/american-graffiti/id391419489) ## 20. The Wackness (2008) Finding love on vacation in Fire Island thanks to therapy and weed. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://goo.gl/VnH2E8) ## 21. Adventureland (2009) What do you do when your European vacation plans go awry? You go to work for the summer in a theme park. Buy at _itunes.apple.com_ ## 22. Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) The forerunner of all family road trip and vacation movies. Mr. Hobbs endures family and a clapped out rental - all sent to try him. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/mr.-hobbs-takes-a-vacation/id301690120) ## 23. My Summer of Love (2004) In the Yorkshire countryside, working-class tomboy Mona meets the exotic, pampered Tamsin. They have much to teach one another, and much to explore together. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/my-summer-of-love/id383269670) ## 24. Addams Family Values (1993) The kids from the world’s weirdest and kookiest family go to summer camp. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/addams-family-values/id329165439) ## 25. Friday the 13th (1980) Camp Crystal Lake reopens. Why. But why? Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/friday-the-13th-1980/id305332580) ## 26. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) What do you do when you can’t afford to pay for your lover’s operation? You stage a bank robbery on a scorching hot summer day. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://goo.gl/1HNjR7) ## 27. Deliverance (1972) What would have been a great summer canoe trip ends up to be a battle for survival. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/deliverance/id282608124) ## 28. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) The Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/national-lampoons-vacation/id294312631) ## 29. Almost Famous (2000) A high-school boy is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone Magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies it on their concert tour. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/almost-famous/id292811984) ## 30. Dazed and Confused (1993) The last day of high school. What will be the graduating class’s legacy? Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/dazed-and-confused/id379802600) ## 31. On Golden Pond (1981) The story of a fractured family’s lakeside vacation. Buy at _itunes.apple.com_ ## 32. Summer of ’42 (1971) A coming-of-age movie about sex-obsessed teenagers during a bygone era. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/summer-of-42/id299621465) ## 33. Meatballs (1979) Can a lackadaisical camp counselor bring a misfit camper out of his shell to give a rival camp a good going over? Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/meatballs/id531251922) ## 34. Little Darlings (1980) Two girls compete to see who can lose their virginity first at summer camp. Buy at [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com?ref=allwomenstalk.com) ## 35. Blue Crush (2002) An action packed surfing flick where the hot surfers are girls. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/blue-crush/id319586795) ## 36. Insomnia (2002) Set against the 24 hours of daylight Alaskan Summer, Robin Williams and Al Pacino investigate the death of a local teen. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/insomnia-2002/id401306600) ## 37. Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) You really have to see this. Beach parties. Street gangs. Kidnapping. Sky-diving surfers. And a mermaid! Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://goo.gl/y9Xr57) ## 38. The Endless Summer (1966) Surfers in search of the perfect wave. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-endless-summer/id401487299) ## 39. Now and then (1995) “Stand by Me” for girls. Buy at [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com?ref=allwomenstalk.com) ## 40. Do the Right Thing (1989) Spike Lee's take on racial tensions in the black neighborhood surrounding a local pizza shop in sweltering Brooklyn. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/do-the-right-thing/id282538466) ## 41. The River Wild (1994) Meryl Streep and family fight off armed robbers while white-water rafting. Enjoy the scenery! Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-river-wild/id290372848) ## 42. Mystic Pizza (1988) Pizzeria waitresses have their own romantic storylines during their summer in Mystic, Connecticut. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/mystic-pizza/id836392159) ## 43. Wet Hot American Summer (2001) A send up of the teen comedies of the '80s. [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/wet-hot-american-summer/id474154996) ## 44. The Flamingo Kid (1984) Matt Dillon takes on a summer job at the upscale El Flamingo Beach Club striving to transcend his working-class Brooklyn roots. Buy at [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com?ref=allwomenstalk.com) ## 45. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) To stay in touch over the summer, four best friends share a pair of magical jeans, sending them to each other along with stories of their adventures. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/sisterhood-traveling-pants/id550022351) ## 46. Brokeback Mountain (2005) The story of two cowboys whose love grew over a summer sheep herding in the mountains. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/brokeback-mountain/id293294355) ## 47. A Walk on the Moon (1999) The summer brings a man to the moon and free love to a small farm near Woodstock, shaking up the safe, happy life of a vacationing housewife. Buy at _itunes.apple.com_ ## 48. Rear Window (1954) In a blistering Greenwich Village heatwave, a wheelchair bound photographer believes he sees a neighbor kill his wife through his window. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/rear-window-1954/id331414521) ## 49. The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) Simon, Jay, Neil and Will go on holiday to Crete. The usual idiocy, gross outness, gaucheness and awkwardness follow them, naturally. Buy at [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com?ref=allwomenstalk.com) ## 50. The Great Gatsby (2013) It’s so easy to forget this fabulous movie is set in the sweltering summer of 1922. Buy at [itunes.apple.com](https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-great-gatsby-2013/id669947696) So which ones did I miss, in your opinion? ## Related Posts - [movies to watch at a girl sleepover](https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/girl-power-movies-that-are-fit-for-a-sleepover/) - [Fabulous Movies with Life Changing Messages Every ...](https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/movies-with-a-message-every-girl-should-see/) - [2015 Movies for All of You Adventurers ...](https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/movies-for-all-of-you-adventurers/) - [7 Movies to Change Your Life and Really Get You Th...](https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/life-changing-movies-thatll-really-make-you-think/) - [7 Times the Movies Got History Wrong ...](https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/times-the-movies-got-history-wrong/) - [Movies Every Friend Group Should See This Fall ...](https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/movies-every-friend-group-should-see-this-fall/) - [7 Entertaining Indie Movies to Watch on Netflix .....](https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/entertaining-indie-movies-to-watch-on-netflix/) - [How RomComs Are Soo Much Different from Real Life ...](https://love.allwomenstalk.com/how-romcoms-are-completely-different-than-real-life/) - [Eye-Opening Movies That Will Make You Run out Imme...](https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/movies-thatll-make-you-change-your-diet/) - [moviess wen](https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/how-to-watch-great-movies-when-you-cant-afford-the-ticket/) - [8 Best Summer Movies ...](https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/best-summer-movies/) - [7 Stellar Summer Camp Movies ...](https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/stellar-summer-camp-movies/) ## Site Information - [Main page](https://allwomenstalk.com) - [Contact us](https://allwomenstalk.com/contact.html) - [HTML article](https://movies.allwomenstalk.com/the-best-summer-movies/)