Add These Summer Cult Classics to Your Movie Night Watchlist

Although summer is here, the season may not be quite the same for Metro Detroiters as we continue social distancing to battle the coronavirus.

“A lot of these are about the end of school and that sense of limitless freedom.” — Corey Hall, film critic

Fortunately, we can revisit the best of summers past through the magic of film.

“Summertime really does speak to the teenage soul” says Corey Hall, the late Metro Times film critic. “A lot of these are about the end of school and that sense of limitless freedom, three months, do whatever you want to do!”

Hall recently died, but previously recorded this interview with CultureShift’s Amanda LeClaire to preview how audiences can escape the lost summer of 2020.

Click the player to hear CultureShift’s Amanda LeClaire countdown the list with Hall. 

Corey Hall’s Summer Time Film Picks

1. Adventureland (2009)

“It’s the true, what goes on behind the scenes with carnies. It’s not a terribly big plot-oriented movie, it’s a hang-out movie.”

From IMDB: “In the summer of 1987, a college graduate takes a ‘nowhere’ job at his local amusement park, only to find it’s the perfect course to get him prepared for the real world.”

2. Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

“It’s a spoof of all of the camp movies of the 70’s, your ‘Meatballs‘ and your ‘Gorp.’ A lot of cut-off shorts and volleyball, a lot of absurd situations.”

From IMDB: “Set on the last day of camp, in the hot summer of 1981, a group of counselors try to complete their unfinished business before the day ends.”

3. Dazed and Confused (1993) 

“All these summer movie create an atmospshere, it’s a place you want to be: The last day of school in 1977 and let’s all party up at the water tower.”

4. American Graffiti (1973)

“This is the iconic summer movie with a killer soundtrack. It’s people hanging out in Modesto, Calif., which is where George Lucas is from, and all of his obsessions with hot rods and saving the pretty girl, all the things you’d see in Star Wars. It really has a warmth and humanity and a sense of fun that is different than anything else you get.”

From IMDB: “A couple of high school grads spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.”