Summer of 69 (2025)
Directed by: Jillian Bell
Premise: A naïve high school student (Sam Morelos) is determined to have her first sexual experience with her crush (Matt Cornett). She recruits a stripper (Chloe Fineman) to teach her about sex.
What Works: Summer of 69 is a coming-of-age comedy adjacent to American Pie, Superbad, and Role Models. Abby, a nerdish young woman who is anxious about her first sexual experience, hires a sex worker named Santa Monica to be her coach. Summer of 69 presents itself as a sex comedy but this is really a buddy movie. The relationship between Abby and Santa Monica is the movie’s core strength. They are an odd couple who are brought together by mutual necessity but the two women gradually become friends. As played by Sam Morelos and Chloe Fineman, Abby and Santa Monica are likable characters and as in any successful love story, the film works because the audience will want to see their relationship succeed. The movie interweaves sexual jokes with a sweet story of friendship, leaning into the latter, and it’s consistently funny. Summer of 69 is the feature film directorial debut of Jillian Bell and she proves to be a promising director. A few scenes show some visual panache, especially Santa Monica’s introduction and a fantasy sequence in which Abby imagines marrying her crush.
What Doesn’t: The overall story of Summer of 69 is very familiar and most viewers ought to see where this is going. As in so many other movies, the two lead characters bond, fall out, and then reconcile. The canned nature of the plot is forgivable insofar as it’s done well and the characters are likable. However, there are a few segments of Summer of 69 that don’t work. At one point Santa Monica takes Abby to an adult novelty shop and this sequence takes a surreal turn. The transition into the fantasy is more confusing than funny. The end of the film is also clumsy; the mechanics of the plot come across forced and the reconciliation between Santa Monica and Abby does not have much emotional impact in part because it is so perfunctory. Summer of 69 presents itself as a sex comedy but it’s actually pretty staid. Generally that’s fine and consistent with the tone but the filmmakers miss opportunities to be bolder and to explore female sexuality in a meaningful way.
Disc extras: Available on Hulu.
Bottom Line: Summer of 69 is an enjoyable enough coming-of-age comedy. It’s predicable and safe but the movie is funny and the central friendship is likable. This is a promising directorial debut from Jillian Bell.
Episode: #1057 (July 20, 2025)