Sometimes you crave the feeling of summer, with hot days that become cool nights, the sun shining brightly, the smell of sunscreen, days by the water, ice cream, lemonade, etc. Whether this evokes a sense of nostalgia or you are dreaming of an aperol spritz on a hot summer day, sometimes you want to watch a movie that feels like summer, any time of the year, to encapsulate a certain feeling. Here are 12 movies that feel like summer to help you capture that feeling all year long.
12. Palm Springs
Palm Springs, a 2020 comedy, is definitely one of the movies that feel like summer. Starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti, the film follows Nyles and Sarah as they find themselves stuck in a time loop, living the same day over again each day.
Not only does Palm Springs, the place itself, emit a summer vibe, but the film also takes place during a summer wedding no less. Being stuck in a time loop, Sandberg and Milioti’s characters live this summer day over and over again, making you feel like summer will never end.
11. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a 2005 romantic comedy that follows four best friends who make a plan to stay best friends with one another as they start to lead different lives by passing around a pair of jeans that fit each of them perfectly.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is full of female friendship and fun summer trips to places like Greece and Mexico, making it a perfect nostalgic watch and one of the movies that feel like summer.
10. Thelma & Louise
Thelma & Louise is an American classic film following two women on a road trip while being hunted by the police after they committed crimes.
If you are looking for a classic road trip movie, maybe with some crime too, to make you feel like summer, Thelma & Louise is just that. It is the original girls trip movie and will make you feel like you are on an exciting summer adventure with your best friends.
Related: 7 Best Family Road Trip Movies
9. Jaws
Jaws is a 1975 classic Spielberg thriller movie about a killer shark who unleashes chaos at a beach in Cape Cod.
Though Jaws does not encapsulate the easy going, low-stress feelings one may want to experience during the summer, it still evokes a strong sense of summer. Starting with its location, Cape Cod is a classic summer destination. So, even though it is portrayed as a stressful, dangerous place, Cape Cod itself encapsulates a very specific feeling of a New England summer. Jaws also speaks to the dangers that do exist when we choose to go to the beach each summer, though not entirely realistic.
8. Call Me By Your Name
Call Me By Your Name is a 2017 romance based on a novel of the same name. The film that brought Timothée Chalamet fame is set in 1980s Italy, following a romance between a 17-year-old student and his father’s research assistant.
Call Me By Your Name is set in 1983 on an Italian estate during the summer, emitting the utmost feeling of summer. The romance, lazy summer days and sunny countryside of Italy makes Call Me By Your Name one of the movies that feel like summer.
7. 500 Days of Summer
500 Days of Summer follows Tom who is reflecting on being dumped by the girl he believes to be his soulmate, Summer.
Though this film is not actually about summer, but a girl named summer, it still emphasizes a very important point that applies to the summer mindset: after heartbreak and sadness, life goes on. After Summer, Tom meets his new love, Autumn. So, when you are heartbroken over the summer ending, remember that good things are to come in Autumn.
6. Moonrise Kingdom
Moonrise Kingdom is a 2012 adventure comedy film from Wes Anderson. The film follows two 12-year-olds on an island who fall in love and elope. However, when setting out on a mission, a violent storm is approaching.
The magical, whimsical setting off the coast of New England, along with the young, innocent love between the two main characters, makes Moonrise Kingdom one of the movies that feel like summer.
Read More: 10 Best Movies from 2012 and Why
5. Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 romance film about Frances “Baby” Houseman who falls in love with the dance instructor, Johnny Castle, at the summer Catskills resort she is visiting with her family.
Dirty Dancing is the epitome of a summer movie, taking place at a summer resort. The romance correlates perfectly with the heat outside, making the film one of the movies that feel like summer.
4. Stand by Me
Stand by Me is a 1986 classic film where a writer recalls a childhood journey he took with his friends to find a missing body.
This coming-of-age film seeps with the feeling of summer. Not only can you feel the heat and dust in 1959 rural Oregon through the screen, but the ability to go on this journey speaks to the freedom children have only during the summer, when their lives aren’t ruled by the school day.
3. Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is one of the most well known movies that feel like summer. Starring Hollywood icons such as Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, and Pierce Brosnan, the film follows a bride-to-be who is trying to find her father.
Filled with hit ABBA songs, stunning summer Greek scenery, and nostalgic summer flashbacks, Mamma Mia! is a definitive movie when thinking about movies that evoke a feeling of summer. Where else do you want to be during summer than a Greek Island at a wedding?
Read More: Ranking the 6 Best Amanda Seyfried Movies
2. The Sandlot
The Sandlot is a 1993 comedy about a group of kids who play baseball each day out in the sandlot together and the adventures that ensue.
The Sandlot is one of the movies that feels the most like summer, displaying the freedom of a child’s summer, getting into mischief and enjoying time playing outside with their friends. This summer movie evokes a feeling of nostalgia like no other.
1. The Parent Trap
The Parent Trap, the 1998 version starring Lindsay Lohan, may be the movie that feels the most like summer.
Following two identical twins who were separated at birth and then rediscover each other years later at summer camp, the film could not feel more like summer. Taking place at a summer camp, California, Napa Valley specifically, and London, each location adds something more to the feeling of summer. I mean, what feels more like summer than summer camp? The film perfectly captures the essence of hot summer nights in a cabin full of your summer friends and nights at bonfires roasting marshmallows.
This nostalgic movie that focuses on sisterhood, family, and love is the epitome of a summer movie and the first movie you should check out if you are looking for a movie that feels like summer.