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The Sandlot

Summer’s finally here. No more exams. No more papers. Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy the nice weather. Granted, it’s May in Illinois, so nice weather is probably a little too much to ask for. But, in honor of summer, here’s a list of the top 10 movies set in that glorious season.

10. The Parent Trap (1998)

I can’t remember the last time Lindsay Lohan actually acted in something. Maybe the stripper movie? But before she became a skank, she played the spunky twins who meet at summer camp and plot to get their parents back together. There’s an original from 1961, but I like this one better.

9. National Lampoon’s Vacation

This isn’t actually a good movie, but it’s the one that started the Vacation franchise; and this one manages to make fun of Disney and traditional family values. Contrary to popular belief, they are not the same thing.

8. The Sandlot

This movie will always remind me of my childhood. The huge dog scared the crap out of me, and I always wondered why his owner sounded so much like Darth Vader. The main reason this movie rocks, though? One line: “You’re killin’ me, Smalls!”

7. Dirty Dancing

The story is completely ridiculous, and the acting is awful, but it’s a classic summer romance. Despite the ridiculousness, I still find myself swooning over Johnny Castle and rejoicing when Baby finally does the leap to “The Time of My Life.” And no, this probably would not be on the list if a guy were writing it.

6. The Long, Hot Summer (1958)

A summer romance of a different kind. This also involves the rich girl who falls for the boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Made at a time when certain things were not said, the sexual tension and innuendos were considered positively scandalous.

5. Bull Durham

What’s summer without a decent baseball flick? This one tells the story of Crash Davis, a veteran catcher who is assigned to the Durham Bulls so he can train their new pitcher, “Nuke” LaLoosh. Both end up falling for a baseball groupie named Annie. Funny and sexy, this is probably my favorite baseball movie.

4. The Notebook

Okay, so it’s sappy, but you know you cried at the end. I do every time. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams have great chemistry and do an awesome job of bringing to life the ultimate summer romance.

3. Stand by Me

Based on a Stephen King short story, this isn’t scary so much as sad. A bro-mance before that was even a word, this tells the story of four boys bonding as they search for a dead body. Keifer Sutherland is great as the villain, and River Phoenix shows amazing potential that was, sadly, never realized.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird

Two kids in the Depression-era South learn that nothing is as simple as black and white as their lawyer father defends a black man wrongfully accused of raping a white woman. Atticus Finch is one of my favorite characters ever, and Gregory Peck is outstanding.

1. Jaws

The first real summer blockbuster. It manages to still be a great movie while entertaining and scaring the crap out of millions of people. And where would America be today without that theme music?