Summer is the season to be outside soaking up the sun, but you may’t be out all day. Your skin would be at risk and you’d get thirsty. Why not balance it out with funny Summer flicks to accompany the mood of the season? Something about setting comedies on sunny days, coastal, on the water, or even in a big city, enhances the feel-good nature of a film viewing experience. The feelings and activities that imply Summer and some time off, even in adulthood, are a lost love.
A film’s setting might not inherently increase the humor, but it adds a sense of escape. Families vacationing on beaches, and lakes, and venturing into the sea are breezy timeouts for viewers. Friends taking day trips to nearby cities for the adventure of a lifetime is a dream for all fans. Such warm escapes lay a great groundwork for funny stories with sweet meaning, upon which layers of mishaps and jokes can be laid. Not all Summer comedies are great comedy movies, but one can’t deny the free and easy appeal of films set at beaches, lakes, or cities during Summer days.
Updated on August 9th, 2023 by Timothy Lindsey:This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
16The Great Outdoors (1988)
A charming and sometimes super funny comforting classic,The Great Outdoorsis a delightful summer-soaked romp with superb performances from Dan Akroyd and the late John Candy. Breezy familiar elements are at play, as this is primarily a fun escape, though the John Hughes script has zing, fantastic characters, and the film as a whole is a slice of late 80s lakeside comedy heaven.
John Candy plays perhapsa more sincere version of the usual Candy lead roleas Chet Ripley, a heart-on-his-sleeve Chicago father who, above all else, wants his family happy. Romanticizing his honeymoon cabin getaway, he plans a Ripley family vacation in the woods of Wisconsin. The trip kicks off well until Chet’s social-climbing, sleazy brother-in-law, Roman Craig (Akroyd) and his family show up to the cabin unannounced. Cue the 80s family excursion gone haywire.
The Great Outdoorsis a pretty zany flick that crams in slapstick mishaps and an occasional crude joke, but it’s largely cute and innocent. An airy story of a father who loves his family and wants to give them a nice vacation, while additionally craving some validation as a good father.The Great Outdoorsis a formidably funny timeout above all else, but we can’t ignore a sweet message brought to us by writer John Hughes and legendary performers like Candy and Akroyd.
15Summer Rental (1985)
A lot of films feature and are better for having John Candy, but not every one of those flicks breathes Candy’s jolliness and innocent complexity throughout every moment.Summer Rental, a simple vacation gone awry vehicle executed to charming perfection by director Carl Reiner, is one of those experiences that’s pure John Candy - good clean fun that doesn’t merely bring laughs, but has a homey feel that calls for re-watching comfort.
Jack Chester’s an exhausted air traffic controller in deep need of a vacation. After one too many mistakes at work, he’s given the go-ahead to take time off. Jack rents a home down the shore for his family, which is a disaster from the jump.Summer Rentalis a wholesome flick that steers clear of crudeness and vulgarity, but it’s a powerfully funny little film for a family-friendly ’80s outing. This is a sun-soaked trip to the shore featuring an utmost lovable John Candy.
Everything aboutSummer Rentalis pleasant, from the mood to the gags. Reiner brings us a light film - timelessly sweet and forever relatable - and with Candy as the warm, inviting, fantastically talented face of it all, this rather tame vehicle has surprisingly hysterical bits you won’t soon forget.
14Funny Farm (1988)
Funny Farmis a known but not aptly appreciated Chevy Chase vehicle, and that’s possibly due to its lightness. The gags aren’t dark like those inNational Lampoon’s Vacation, nor are they raunchy like most Chevy antics in efforts likeFletchandCaddyshack. With the exclusion of a little testicle eating,Funny Farmis for the most part family-friendly, coasting on a breezy story of a fish-out-of-water couple and the funny mishaps along their move from NYC to rural upstate NY.
Chevy Chase plays Andy Farmer, a sportswriter who leaves his job to move with his wife Elizabeth (Madolyn Smith Osborne) to a small farm property in upstate New York to focus on writing a novel. Andy’s naïve and hopeful while Elizabeth hints from the beginning that this change may end disastrously. Andy struggles to accomplish any of his novel - an inner fight piled onto the madness he’s already developing as he pretends to love this new environment. Meanwhile, Elizabeth tends to the yard, sulks, and secretly pens a book of her own. Cue a thick layer of relationship trouble on top of a big move that clearly isn’t working out.
As for the warm escape,Funny Farmdoes provide it. Nothing is definitively “summer” about it besides feel, though. The Farmer’s move, being short, hectic, and scenic, does have the feel of a messy summer vacation. Their being out of place in a tiny woodsy town by a lake seems like June through September is enough to qualify this as a Summer comedy. Don’t make me defend this as a summer comedy or good movie any further.
13Summer School (1987)
Mark Harmon as gym teacher Freddy Shoop inSummer Schoolis a beachy style icon and the pinnacle of slacker cool. Mr. Shoop’s a character who’s arguably bigger than the film itself, but the flick as a whole is a harmless, sweet summery gem from director Carl Reiner.
Underachieving high school gym teacher Freddy has plans to spend the summer in Hawaii. Vice Principal Gills (Robin Thomas) ruins that vacation when he asks Freddy to teach summer school English. It’s either that or losing tenure. Freddy’s tasked with leading a crazy classroom of unmotivated students, putting more of a damper on his summer, but fellow faculty member and history teacher Ms. Bishop (Kirstie Alley) act as a friend and helpful resource. With Ms. Bishop’s help and growing love for his group of misunderstood remedial English students, Freddy finds a passion for teaching and soul searches through the summer.
Summer Schoolalso features a great cast of characters, most notably young horror filmmakers Dave (Gary Riley) and Chainsaw (Dean Cameron). These knuckleheads might be mediocre students, but their ambition and knack for creating practical horror effects show as they stage gruesome, gory gags to prank Freddy and their classmates. Wedging campy horror moments into a cheery seasonal comedy is a quirk ’80s movie fans can love.Summer Schoolis surprisingly original and provides the escape of an offbeat summer in late ’80s California.
12Grown Ups (2010)
It is hard to find a better “old friends” film thanGrown Ups(2010). It also might be hard to find a funnier overall Summer film. With a loaded cast that includes Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, Maya Rudolph, and others,Grown Upstells the story of five childhood buddies who reconvene at the funeral of their old basketball coach. After the funeral, they go, with their families, to spend the Fourth of July at the lake house where they celebrated the championship together with their old coach 30 years prior.
Through witty comments, hilarious jokes, and clever one-liners, comedy lovers are gifted with the sight of five old buddies being reminded of why became best friends in the first place. The film has too many funny scenes to count, including a wacky day at a water park, Kevin James on a rope swing going horribly wrong, and kids getting the wrong idea about what it means to get “wasted.”
The film grossed over $270 million and led to a sequel in 2013, which sees Lenny Feder (Sandler) move back to his hometown with all of his buddies. This is the film to watch if you are sitting in your basement with your best friends thinking about what to do with your Friday night.
11Up The Creek (1984)
LikeAnimal Housein the woods, and not far off in terms of overall comedic delight,Up The Creekis a bawdy college romp following a crew of screw-ups from the country’s most academically shameful university as they’re forced to compete in a collegiate whitewater rafting tournament in order to stay enrolled and graduate. Lead Bob McGraw (Tim Matheson) is the Van Wilder-y campus cool guy, in his 12th year of college. Alongside glutton Gonzer (Stephen Furst) alcoholic dork Irwin (Sandy Helberg) and general cut-up Max (Dan Monahan) the crew of misfits head to the collegiate rafting tournament against their will, mostly ready to party.
Up The Creektakes the standard slobs vs. snobs premise out into rushing white water, and though nothing about this is overly inspired, it follows the formula and delivers a super enjoyable escape/ Quips, nonsense, silly characters, wilderness, blondes, summer bods, and white-water rafting - a perfect summer getaway for us aging comedy heads.
For unexplained reasons, maybe the lack of a huge star,Up The Creekisnever ranked among great comedies, but it should be. The blueprint’s laid nicely, it’s 80s goodness. The jokes are frequent and much funnier than you’d expect them to be. Give this one a shot if you haven’t seen it, but don’t expect Oscar-worthy and preferably be drunk or high.
10The Parent Trap
In one of the most beloved Nancy Meyers films, and that is saying something,The Parent Trap(1998) tells the story of twin girls (Lindsay Lohan plays the role of both twins) who meet each other for the first time at a Summer camp nearly 12 years after their parents (Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson) divorce. At the camp, after first disliking each other, they become very close. Before the end of camp, they decide to switch places and go back home with the parent they know virtually nothing about. Hallie goes to London to meet with her mom, Elizabeth James, and Annie goes to Napa, California to meet her father, Nicholas Parker.
Both, while hiding their accents have a great time, but Annie discovers that her dad is going to be re-married to a not-so-nice publicist named Meredith, who is interested in marrying Nicholas for his money. Hallie and Annie must find a way to bring their parents back together in the end before it is too late.
The film is a remake of the 1961 film of the same name. OnRotten Tomatoes,the film has a high score of 86% and was the second-best film on its opening weekend after gaining over $11 million at the box office. This award-winning film is a family classic that has the power to bring all families together for moments of warmth and inspiration.
9Overboard (1987)
A Goldie and Kurt charmer by the sea that’s as lovey-dovey and summery as can be,Overboardis quintessential summer viewing, and a particularly delightful re-watch for someone either reminiscing or just seeking an ’80s love story. Super rich snob Joanna Stayton (Goldie Hawn) leads a luxurious life with her husband Grant (Edward Herrmann). Dean Proffitt (Kurt Russell) a widowed carpenter with four children, is working on a closet for Joanna aboard their yacht and not being treated particularly well.
Joanna falls off the yacht and suffers amnesia, and Grant takes the opportunity to leave her and take his fortune. Dean, in the interest of revenge for how he was treated, visits Joanna in the hospital and convinces her she’s his wife. Though she’s initially appalled by Dean’s lifestyle, his residence, and the behavior of his four sons, the couple develops a chemistry that surprises them both.
Beyond being cast to perfection,Overboardoffers chuckle-worthy screw-ups, standard 80s hi-jinks, and hilariously incompetent parenting from Kurt as Dean. The romance is as cheesy as can be, but viewers eat it up, and that’s whyOverboardwillforever be cherished and its storyline revisited. This is a romantic comedy running on fantasy; free of dark reality, even when the subject is real.
8Meatballs (1979)
A most genuine, simple summer camp story from a then up-and-coming director Ivan Reitman, with a young and super charismatic Bill Murray leading as snarky, smooth camp counselor Tripper:Meatballshas the cult classic comedy formula, and a sincere sweetness that more vulgar efforts it inspired don’t have. Tripper (Bill Murray) is the head counselor at a less-than-spectacular summer camp, Camp Northstar. He floats about, carefree, seeming disconnected from any sense of responsibility, until he befriends a shy, loner camper named Rudy (Chris Makepeace).
Meatballsis pretty bare bones despite its title, but it’s kept uncomplicated in a way that lends authentic energy. No forced twists throw any wrenches in the mix. There’s no convoluted plot to muddy the relationships or shadow the atmosphere at Camp Northstar. We have what feels like a scenic budget summer camp in the late ’70s, inhabited by curious adolescent counselors (who look more mid-to-late 20s) and confused wily campers.
While this is a known, respected film from an all-time great comedy director and one of the most legendary comedic actors to walk the planet, it presents like an obscure old cult hit only comedy nerds praise. Bill Murray was at the height of SNL stardom, at a time whenSaturday Night Livewas new, revolutionary, and cool as can be.Meatballs is your stop for an early, spectacular Bill Murray showing, and a vintage summer camp escape with a cute story.
7National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
National Lampoon’s Vacationdoesn’t offer lakes or beaches, but it’s the original and quintessential family summer vacation gone awry film, for God’s sake. Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) plans a trip to Wally World for good old-fashioned family fun, but it’s a dark comic nightmare the whole way. We all know the plot ofNational Lampoon’s Vacation, right? Chevy Chase is at his well-meaning, goofy best as Clark in the original vacation. He’s dumb, caring, confused, and oddly endearing. He’s a klutz with human urges who means well.
The supporting cast inVacationis also perfect. Beverly D’Angelo as Ellen, the kind but completely fed-up wife, is a great dimwitted guy’s smart, put-together partner. A younger than young Anthony Michael Hall assumes the role of Clark’s preteen son Rusty, and to this day Hall is the most classic Rusty from theVacationfranchise. He’s innocent but mischievous, sarcastic and clever, and the Hall/Chase scenes breathe genuineness. Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie is one of the outright funniest comedic acting displays in film, ever.
Beyond spot-on casting,National Lampoon’s Vacationtells a spectacularly funny story. A relatable framework is thrown to hell as darkly hysterical unfortunate events ensue, and characters spout hilarious dialogue in response to one mishap after another. The late great John Hughes penned a script that laid a blueprint, but few films that followed said blueprint is even in the ballpark of being this funny or unadulterated.National Lampoon’s Vacationremains one of the greatest comedies of all time, and a textbook summer comedy classic.
