Though there still may be a few weeks before I can dip my toes in Lake Michigan without freezing, summer is unofficially here. My workload lessens a bit and I am free to waste time on my favorite activities, including watching a few of my favorite cheesy movies on DVD. These movies are not cinematic masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination, but they celebrate the carefree nature of summer and they allow my brain to take a little holiday.
Should I have included some oldies like “Beach Blanket Bingo” or any Elvis classic like “Clambake”? Leave me your suggestions in the comment box below.
The Shag: I doubt many film buffs have ever seen this cutsey road trip film with a young Phoebe Cates and Annabeth Gish, but I always thought it was a fun piece of fluff. A group of girls sneak away to the summer home of Carson (Phoebe Cates) at Myrtle Beach and decide to try not being good girls for just one weekend, but everything goes awry. There are hot boys, dance contests, and unexpected guests who drop by the house all for a bit of summer time naughtiness.
Earth Girls are Easy: Who doesn’t love a movie about alien invasion that is also a musical ? This corny, ridiculous, occasionally raunchy film has a great cast including Geena Davis, Jim Carrey. and Jeff Goldblum.
Footloose: Now that Hollywood is determined to make a new version of this iconic musical, I suppose it is time to revisit Kevin Bacon’s dance crazy days while wondering whatever happened to actress Laura Singer. I think the story of quasi-rebellious teens who aren’t allowed to dance holds up pretty well, and I shudder to think what the new incantation will bring.

Flamingo Kid: This is a charming coming-of-age film that features a young and sweet, not surly, Matt Dillon. He plays a guy working a summer job at a semi-ritzy beach club and falls in love with a visitor at the club.
Weekend at Bernie’s: It’s ludicrous, but still funny after all these years. Brat packer Andrew McCarthy plays one half of a hapless duo who must cover up the death of their boss while vacationing at the boss’s lush Hamptons retreat. No one has played a better corpse than Terry Kiser as Bernie.
Post your own favs below.