Kimber Myers
I don’t make the rules: Every decade needs its raunchy teen sex comedy—and it should preferably feature at least one sketch comedy alum. In the ‘90s, American Pie included SCTV’s Eugene Levy alongside all the young actors. The aughts’ Superbad had Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader appear briefly alongside Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. And it was Hader again, plus fellow SNL alum Andy Samberg, in the underrated Aubrey Plaza vehicle The To-Do List checking the box for the 2010s.
The most recent entry to fit the pattern is actress (and one-time SNL writer) Jillian Bell’s directorial debut, Summer of 69. Current SNL cast member Chloe Fineman plays a starring role, with the sketch show’s Alex Moffat and writer Paula Pell also appearing in smaller parts, just for good measure. Summer of 69 isn’t reinventing the wheel with its story of a sexually inexperienced teenager trying to lose her virginity, but it’s very aware of its predecessors in the teen movie genre, paying overt homage to classics like Risky Business and Sixteen Candles. With her co-writers Jules Byrne and Liz Nico, Bell has made a super likable addition to the long tradition of teen sex comedies.
What sets Summer of 69 apart is star Sam Morelos, who plays charmingly awkward, just-shy-of-18 Abby. She’s wide-eyed and sweetly funny, a breath of fresh air for those of us who didn’t watch the actress on That ‘90s Show and who try to pretend the series never happened because its mere existence makes us feel old. If it were a lesser movie, Summer of 69 could have the same aging effect, with its story about Abby, a friendless teen who pines for Max (Matt Cornett). Yet this comedy has broad appeal beyond its target demographic—and not just because Bell had the wisdom to cast the game, always hilarious Pell as the owner of a strip club.
Where the strip club comes into the admittedly silly plot is when Abby hears that the newly single Max loves to 69. Rather than google it like her peers and every normal human, Abby visits Diamond Dolls, where she is wowed by the confidence of exotic dancer Santa Monica (Fineman). Abby tells Monica that she’ll pay her to learn about sex (69, specifically), which works out for Monica, who desperately needs the cash to keep the club out of the greasy clutches of an asshole (Charlie Day).
With a cast that also includes Nicole Byer and Liza Koshy as Monica’s colleagues at Diamond Dolls, the jokes have a seemingly effortless, throwaway approach, which makes sense given Bell’s own work as a writer and actress in films like Brittany Runs a Marathon and 22 Jump Street. Whether it has moments that are improvised (or just feels like they could have been), Summer of 69 has the confidence to casually toss out a frank—and frankly hilarious—line and move on to the next one. It’s fast and funny, with enough bite to be off-color and earn the occasional gasp among both its older and younger viewers.
The youngest ones might not catch that Summer of 69 is nodding to its antecedents (except for Risky Business, which gets a name-checked homage), but the more experienced audience members will gather that it all feels a little familiar. Though it’s set in the present, there’s still a sense of nostalgia amidst the genre tropes like throwing a party when parents are away and embarrassing yourself in front of your crush— or is the latter just a fact of life and that’s why it shows up in every movie like this?
Yet there are some nicely weird little touches that make Summer of 69 stand out in the crowd. Abby seeks advice from the school mascot, who’s in costume, naturally. Our heroine has fantasies (non-sexual, you perv) that briefly take her and the audience out of reality. Plus, it’s all surprisingly sweet and gentle, punctuated as much by Abby’s innocence as her attempts to shed it. Summer of 69 might be about sex on the surface (okay, and below it), but it’s really also about the importance of confidence and friendship. Its charms aren’t just in its wonderfully loose approach to raunchy comedy and a brief flash of a boob; they lie in the longer reveal of its tender heart.
B
“Summer of 69” streams tomorrow on Hulu.
