Flicks that say ‘summer'

No new movies open in the metro area today, since “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” took over thousands of screens Wednesday from coast to coast.

So let's take a summer movie break.

What are your choices for all-time best and worst flicks set in the summertime — movies in which summer is such a part of the story, it almost qualifies as a character?

Here are a few of mine:

BEST

1. “Jaws,” 1975. Steven Spielberg's career was off and running after this smash hit snagged a best-picture nod and won Oscars in three other categories. John Williams' score used just two notes to brilliantly strike fear into every heart — two notes still widely recognized 34 years later as shorthand for shark.

2. “American Graffiti,” 1973. George Lucas might never have gotten to make “Star Wars” if he hadn't first scored with this nostalgic hit about 1960s teen nightlife that snagged five Oscar nominations. He also rescued Harrison Ford from being a carpenter for life, recalling his bit part in this movie and casting him as Han Solo.

3. “Caddyshack,” 1980. A forerunner of the gross-out comedy, this still-hilarious tale of the goings-on at a country club is a classic exploration of summer love, summer jobs, golf and gophers. And what a cast: Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe.

4. “Body Heat,” 1981. Introducing Kathleen Turner as a calculating seductress who sets up William Hurt to murder her husband. But will she stick around if the deed is done? The sweaty sex scenes had everybody talking when the film came out, and Turner scored a Golden Globe nomination. One of director-screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan's best.

5. “Bull Durham,” 1988. What would a summer movie list be without the boys of summer? Kevin Costner, as a minor-league catcher, and Tim Robbins, as a newbie pitcher, vie for the romantic favors of Susan Sarandon in my favorite baseball picture, thanks to Ron Shelton's hilarious, whip-smart script.

6. “Stand By Me,” 1986. Four boys in their early teens have a summer camp-out adventure while looking for a corpse. Rob Reiner's wistful buddy pic explores carefree youth and lost innocence through the eyes of narrator Richard Dreyfuss as he looks back on one of life's turning points. Based on a Stephen King book.

7. “Adventureland,” 2009. Every list deserves a sleeper, and this one's mine. In summer 1987, college-bound Jesse Eisenberg takes a summer job at a lame local amusement park and gets some life lessons from fellow employees. Ryan Reynolds and Kristen Stewart co-star. Greg Mottola is a writer-director to watch.

8. “Summer of '42,” 1971. On Nantucket Island, a young man awaiting his first sexual experience pines for a woman whose husband is overseas in the war. Gary Grimes and Jennifer O'Neill get this wistful movie just right, and Michel Legrand's Oscar-winning score is another reason to watch.

9. “The Parent Trap.” No, not the 1998 remake, which isn't bad (Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson), but the 1961 original starring Hayley Mills, Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara. Identical twins discover each other at summer camp, then switch places in their divorced parents' homes while conspiring to bring them back together. Memorable family fun.

10. “Dirty Dancing,” 1987. Sure, it's cheesy, but admit it's also a guilty pleasure. What did Jennifer Grey do on her summer vacation? Hook up with bad boy Patrick Swayze, a hunky dance teacher at a Poconos resort. As the Oscar-winning song says, I've had the time of my life with Johnny and Baby.

Also-rans: “Field of Dreams,” 1989, starring Kevin Costner; “The Endless Summer,” 1966, a surfer documentary; “Summertime,” 1955, starring Katharine Hepburn; “Summer Stock,” 1950, starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly; “A Day at the Races,” 1937, starring the Marx Brothers.

WORST

1. “Ernest Goes to Camp,” 1987. Rest in peace, Jim Varney. Your one-note character had his five minutes of fame, which is all he deserved. Know what I mean, Vern?

2. “Daddy Day Camp,” 2007. Sorry, director Fred Savage. Loved ya in “The Wonder Years.” Sorry, star Cuba Gooding Jr. You deserved your Oscar for “Jerry Maguire.” Neither of you is campy enough to pull this off, though.

3. “Club Dread,” 2004. A serial killer interrupts the fun at a summer beach resort in this seriously unfunny comedy directed and written by Jay Chandrasekhar, who also co-stars.

4. “Beach Party,” 1963. It's not that this one is the worst of the beach movies starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. It's just that it made the others possible, plus oh so many bad movies in the same genre.

5. “The Blue Lagoon,” 1980. Yeah, Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins are a dermatologist's dream in this soft-porn story of child incest, but turn the sound down on that awful script.

Also-rans: “Wet and Wild Summer,” 1992, starring Atkins; “Surf Nazis Must Die,” 1987, starring neo-Nazi surf punks; “American Pie 2,” 2001, starring Jason Biggs; “Summer Catch,” 2001, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jessica Biel; “Summer Heat,” 1987, starring Lori Singer and Bruce Abbott.

Contact the writer:

444-1269, bob.fischbach@owh.com