What time is it? Summertime Edition
Memorial Day has come and gone and during the holiday weekend I managed to fit in a barbecue, baseball game, poolside lounging and a really bad sunburn, meaning it's officially summertime. No matter how many years out I am from grade school, the warm May sun and smell of humidity mixed with chlorine will always rekindle the blissful feeling of packing up desks and turning in books on the last days of school. Nowadays, summer doesn't mean months of vacation, but it does mean weekends and weeknights filled with outdoor escapes and plenty of fun music and pop culture to consume. This week's newsletter is a love letter to all things SUMMER.
As Seen on Screen
Whether it's a movie that's set at camp, a TV finale or premiere during summer months or a movie I saw in July while trying to beat the Chicago heat, here's a rundown of the best TV shows and movies to get you in the summertime spirit.
A story about sisterhood, magic pants and a trip to Greece? I'm in! Give both Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies a watch if you're looking for a fun story about four best friends, who use a pair pants to keep them united during their summers apart. The four actresses' natural chemistry (they remain close friends to this day) and the realistic portrayal of female friendship make these movies stand out.
Because of TV hiatus schedules, primetime shows often skip telling stories about summer. Fortunately, Boy Meets World, Gilmore Girls and Dawson's Creek have us covered. Boy Meets World's season three finale features a surprisingly serious look at Cory's impending vacation. When he realizes Shawn and Topanga will be out of town, Cory and Eric unload years of pent up emotional baggage at the prospect of spending the summer together. It's a beautiful episode, with plenty of humor mixed in, about the importance of the sibling bond. In Gilmore Girls, you've got a lot of options, as the show often sets its season openers or closers during June or August. If you want to center in on the Jess/Dean drama, watch Lazy-Crazy-Hazy-Days during season three, if you'd rather focus on Lorelai's brief engagement to Max, check out the first three episodes of season two, or if you want to watch the best episode of Gilmore ever, check out the season four finale, where Lorelai and Luke have their first kiss! In Dawson's Creek, check out the season four premiere episode, where Joey and Pacey return from their romantic boat trip and have to deal with a very sad and annoyingly angsty Dawson. I guess it won't shock anyone that I'm team Pacey... he bought her a wall!
One summer in July our air conditioning was out for a couple of days. After becoming a bit irritable in the heat, my mom took me and my brother to the movies. As soon as we walked into the ice cold hometown theater (which at the time was selling movie tickets for $5), I was instantly refreshed. I was also pleasantly surprised by the movie we ended up seeing, Over the Hedge. On first glance it looks like a poor man's Pixar film, but Over the Hedge was actually a touching and funny story about RJ the raccoon, who is charmed by the animal families he meets in the suburbs and decides to change his manipulative ways. Steve Carell, Bruce Willis, William Shatner, Wanda Sykes, Garry Shandling and even Avril Lavigne lend their voices to this 2006 animated film.
I never went to summer camp, but if I had to picture it, I'd imagine it looks exactly like the 1998 version of The Parent Trap, complete with fencing classes, late-night poker games and no adult supervision whatsoever. I'm now being told this might be unrealistic. But I don't care! Because The Parent Trap remains one of my favorite movies and will always bring back a wonderful feeling of childhood nostalgia, no matter how old I get.
If you're looking for a cheery escape, you can transport yourself to River City, Iowa by watching or listening to music from the classic film, The Music Man. Set during the summertime, the musical follows the story of the swindling Harold Hill (played by Robert Preston or Matthew Broderick, depending on which version you prefer) and his plot to start a boy's band in the small town. With music and lyrics by Meredith Wilson, you'll be tapping your feet to Ya Got Trouble or Shipoopi for the rest of the day.
Bonus Pick: Skip the screens and dust off your old copy of Harry Potter. Since most Harry Potter books and movies were released in the summer months, it feels especially appropriate to revisit the classic stories from J.K. Rowling during this time. Growing up, I would often crack open Prisoner of Azkaban or Order of the Phoenix and re-read on a relaxing summer day.
Haven't You Heard?
No summer is complete without the perfect soundtrack attached. Here's a rundown of some of the best music to put on your playlist:
Let's start things off with a classic from Grease. Despite my issues with the rest of the musical and some of the lyrics in this song, Summer Lovin' sure is catchy and will no doubt get you thinking about beach adventures.
In The Last Five Years, Cathy sings a sarcastic tune about her Summer in Ohio, where she's stuck performing "40 miles east of Cincinnati." If you're looking for something a little snarky with an upbeat and catchy tone, this one's for you.
What Time Is It? opens High School Musical 2 and while it's not the best song on the movie's soundtrack, it's the perfect one to get you hyped up as you sprint excitedly out of work to embrace the weekend!
Looking for something a little less Broadway? Bryan Adams' Summer of '69 will fill you with guitar-strumming nostalgia.
Last year, Kenny Chesney's All the Pretty Girls was on the radio every time I entered a car, and it soon became my song of the summer for 2017. As I search for this year's pick, I'll crank up Chesney's hit.
Required Reading
Yesterday, the entertainment world was dominated by the news that the Roseanne revival would be cancelled, after a racist tweet from Roseanne Barr. Soon after ABC announced the cancellation the name Channing Dungey began swirling around the internet. The president of ABC, Channing is the first African-American and first African-American woman to run a major broadcast TV network. As the former drama chief of ABC's Entertainment Group, she worked on Scandal, Quantico, Once Upon a Time, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and more shows for the network. If you're interested in reading more about Channing, as I certainly was, you can check out this Hollywood Reporter story published after she was named ABC's president and this rundown of facts from New York Magazine. A few months ago, I shared Roxane Gay's piece for The New York Times about the Roseanne reboot. After the show's cancellation, Roxane wrote a follow-up piece that you can check out here, where she discusses the decision to make the revival in the first place.
