Summer sleepover movies 🌸🦩🫧🌿

1. Adventureland, 2009

⭐️ 6.8/10

– Hey guess what? This is a good movie. It's hard to tackle the 'coming of age' genre cause it's been beaten to death. But this one is worth viewing, not because the story is original.. it's not. But rather because of wonderful performances by the lead couple Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg. Jesse played Mark Zuckerberg in 'The Social Network'. 'nuff said there. And Kristen... goodness she is a beauty. The actress is just wounded enough to allow her to call on the proper emotion as required and make you believe it. These two, as well as the rest of the cast, make you fully believe the characters are actually going through the stuff they go through. The film has a slower, relaxed pace, and the comedic moments are more spaced out, yet perfect when they come. Of course you can be laughing much of the time as you see yourself in these young people when you were that age and doing the same silly kinds of things. For me, there was a moment where a kid steals the family car after dark by rolling it out of the driveway and down the street so that the parents won't hear it start up. Been there.

Done that.

2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 2008

⭐️ 7.1/10

– This film was shown at my university tonight and Stoller was there for a Q&A after the screening. The film was the typical Apatow romp that we have seen as of late (Superbad, Knocked up, etc.). There was the usual crude and creative humor as well inappropriate sexuality to make another great Apatow team production. People should not come in with the expectation that this is another romantic comedy reincarnation of "Knocked Up". This is more of a typical and organic romantic comedy. The heavy emotional weight and issues in "Knocked up" are not present in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". The casting and comedic pacing was done very well and though it may not be a cinematic heavy hitter, it was very good for a directing debut and it was what movies all strive to be, entertaining.

3. Little Darlings, 1980

⭐️ 6.5/10

– Very entertaining movie but what really makes it worthwhile is the wonderful performance by Kristy McNicol. That alone makes it worth watching - she carries the movie all the way through. Love the scene where she and Tatum have their heart-to-heart confession of what really happened - Kristy shows true emotion. Matt Dillon sure was a cute thing back then! Also, watch for a very young Cynthia Nixon from Sex in the City playing the hippie kid. And Armand Asante - what can I say! He was sure in his prime in the looks department! Tatum is only just okay in this film but then maybe that's how her character was supposed to be. A fun watch!

4. The Seven Year Itch, 1955

⭐️ 7.1/10

– Peak Marilyn. She's funny, sexy, and absolutely charming, and it's also of course got that iconic moment over the subway grate. I've also always liked Tom Ewell in this. As silly as his character is and as stagey as his monologues are, I think he's funny and satirizes married men with wandering eyes pretty well. He has ridiculous fantasies, clumsily tries to put the moves on a younger woman, and is wracked by guilt. I absolutely love the scene where he plays Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2 to set the mood (both in fantasy and reality), and how it was incorporated into the soundtrack. Another nice little moment is when he's fixing a couple of Tom Collins for the two of them, going on about how it couldn't have been chance for them to have met, while she's talking to herself about needing to return a fan to a store. I like how spare the story is, and the various one-liners in the script. Director Billy Wilder lamented making the film under the Production Code, and it is a shame that some things were censored, but Monroe's appeal can't be denied. I like it for what it is, a product of its time for sure, and a harmless sex comedy.

Favorite line: "Miss Morris, I'm perfectly capable of fixing my own breakfast. As a matter of fact, I had a peanut butter sandwich and two whiskey sours."

5. Friday the 13th, 1980

⭐️ 6.4/10

– Friday the 13th' may have been panned by critics when first released but since then it is moror most conic wains. The is pour enougn toecome otanine and spawn several sequels of varying quality and generally inferior to the one that started it all of. Is 'Friday the 13th' an original film in terms of overall story? No, having been, and still is, compared to 'Halloween' (released two years earlier). One can see why somewhat, it is derivative in a way but to me it didn't come over as a direct rip off. 'Friday the 13th' is far from the best when it comes to acting, excepting Betsy Palmer (very good) and Adrienne King (charming). The others are average at best, though it was interesting to see Kevin Bacon in an early role pre-stardom.

Have you watched these movies? If not, go watch them! They are a must-watch. Let me know your insights in the comments.

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