The best summer movies of all time, according to our readers

Globe and Mail

06-06-2025

To ring in the summer movie season, The Globe's film editor Barry Hertz put together a list of the 25 best summer films ever made, sure to get hearts pumping and bring a little bit of that movie magic back. But everyone has their favourite, and inevitably he missed some beloved flicks.
From blockbusters to rom coms, you shared your favourite picks that didn't make our initial list. Here are some highlights, in our readers' own words.
This is Spinal Tap, 1984: 'The Summer Movie has something especially to do with the Drive-in, so an honorable mention for the last drive-in movie I saw in a small upstate town's only surviving one, circa 1984. This is Spinal Tap may be the capstone for all the cheesy flicks that were fodder for that style venue, something to not see while you're working your best American Graffiti moves. Couldn't avoid it though, oh the horror!' - Chris Boeree, Las Vegas
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, 1968: 'Starring a fastidious deaf-mute brilliantly played by Alan Arkin and sweet, gawky Sondra Locke as a teen in the small-town South to whom he becomes a sounding board, (platonic) consoler in the storms of one adolescent summer, and – too late, she realizes – her first love. From a work by Carson McCullers, it opened in summer 1968. Poignant, funny and brilliantly acted (Arkin was nominated for a best actor Oscar), the movie's finale had my best friend and me, aged 15, sobbing uncontrollably in our seats for 15 minutes after the credits.' - Janet Gottlieb, Toronto
Jaws, 1975: 'The movie captures horror so well, because while it comforts you in a setting of summer bliss, something terrifying lurks under the surface. It's my favourite summer movie and a classic!' - Victoria Hatt, Ottawa
Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986: 'This is one I watch almost every summer, and have for decades. 'Long and sweltering July day, absolutely anything can happen' – this sentence could be used to describe the movie. Ferris, Cameron and Sloane take the day off from school and the world is their oyster. They go to a baseball game, they take Cameron's dad's fancy car for a joyride, enjoy a parade and relax by the swimming pool doing absolutely nothing. The movie is totally relatable and there's a certain nostalgia to it, a nostalgia that reminds you of simpler summer days. 'Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it' - just like the summer.' - Chris Kobryn, Kelowna, B.C.
Wet Hot American Summer, 2001: 'I love Wet Hot American Summer. It is such a ridiculous movie, and it is like a time capsule of early 2000s up-and-coming comedians before they made it big.' - Rebecca MacDonald, Halifax
Rock 'n' Roll High School, 1979: 'Executive production duties were handled by the king of B movies, Roger Corman, and like his entire canon, it's a low-budget romp that borders on brilliance because of its stupidity. Every teen trope is skewered and the level of energy never stops. The first scene with The Ramones, rolling into town in a convertible Cadillac while belting out I Just Wanna Have Something to Do, is one of the best rock videos ever filmed. The soundtrack outside of The Ramones is first rate, too, featuring Devo, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Alice Cooper, Nick Lowe and many more.' - Tom Bimson, Ottawa
A Summer Place, 1959: 'Overwrought, hyper anxious, and totally irresistible. Whoever grew up with the theme song knows that it is one of the real sounds of summer. Viva Percy Faith!' - N. Russell, Toronto
Booksmart, 2019: 'Literally smart gal-pal movie. Two studious soon-to-be grads with Ivy League aspirations learn that their devotion to studying may not get them ahead of their partying classmates. So with graduation around the corner they do the research.' - Peter Cech, Burnaby, B.C.
Run Lola Run, 1998: 'At the time and today, it represents a kinetically visual smorgasbord of 'contagious and impulsive energy' fuelled by a simple dilemma. Toss in crime, love and desperation and you have the recipe, when well-acted, for a great movie, even if it's missing fake sharks, raptors or aliens. Every wrong turn leads to an outcome.' - Chris Sadler, Ontario
The Graduate, 1967: 'With Dustin Hoffman as the eponymous anti-hero, Anne Bancroft as Clodia to his Catullus, and an unforgettable Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack. Saw it in the summer of 1967, the year that Canada turned 100 and I turned 21.' - Bill Atkinson, Edmonton
My American Cousin, 1985: 'Hard to find, but so, so captures a summer in the Okanagan and the angst of growing up. This is a gem. I try not to watch it too often so it continues to be gold. As I grow older, I continue to find different levels of charm and irony. All Canadians (especially those who have lived in or visited the Okanagan) should watch this.' - Karl Larsen, Kamloops
Four Weddings and a Funeral, 1994: 'My absolute favourite movie of all time. Have watched it many times and still laugh and cry at the same scenes. It is one of those rare movies that is well-scripted, not over-acted, and where all the actors have perfect chemistry. Again, it takes me back to when I was in my early thirties and surrounded by a small, but very close group of friends, and all the fun and sadness we shared before we slowly drifted away as life happened.' - Sunita Mehta, Scarborough, Ont.
American Graffiti, 1973: 'A celebration of teenage summer, with an end-of-summer and end-of-innocence edge. Fun and bittersweet. Excellent ensemble performance. And what a soundtrack!' - Ken Cruikshank, Hamilton
The Pink Panther, 1963: 'My mom is 92, and every summer for the past 62 years we have gone to Round Lake Ontario near Killaloe. Here we stay in a log cabin that has been in the same family for over 150 years. From the very first time you could view a movie on a television – which was likely the advent of Betamax – we watch The Pink Panther movies with Peter Sellers. Everyone laughs uproariously every single time we play them. Inspector Clouseau and his side kick Kato, Chief Inspector Dreyfus and the whole amazing series of running gags, plot twists and wonderful family oriented comedy that graces our movie nights, while the owls hoot, the waves roll in and the moon brightly shines.' - Charles Merredew, Merrickville, Ont.
Twister, 1996: 'Though Canadian to the core, my maternal grandmother lived in southern Indiana. My family spent every summer holiday there until I was 19. I have great memories of her farm, and playing with cousins I saw only once a year.
Also memorable were the summer storms, and the threat of tornadoes on those sultry, hot summer days. Twister did a terrific job of evoking that time in my life. Turning a weather event into an adventure/thriller film was a stroke of genius.
Watching it in the summer, preferably on a steamy day, in the dark, brings back a jumble of childhood memories - Grandma's farm, family potlucks, fireworks, the drive-in, riding my bike, the list goes on. And for that reason Twister deserves to be included.' - Lois Morimoto, St. Catharines, Ont.