Got my first real G-string, bought it at the five and dime
The kids who grew up watching Disney Channel sitcoms are now old enough to be directing R-rated comedies. That’s the only explanation I can come up with for this wave of raunchy-but-sweet, sitcom-flavored teen comedies that’s crested in the last few years. Sweethearts, Prom Dates, Incoming — each one shot through with a light comfort-food comic tone and a lot of horny awkwardness. Even Prom Pact, an actual Disney release, has an edge that would’ve been anathema to the House of Mouse a decade ago.
Summer of 69, a Hulu original and the directorial debut of actress and former SNL writer Jillian Bell, is the latest addition to that lineup. The film’s title is not in reference to the year (this is present-set) or the Bryan Adams song — just good, old-fashioned, numerically themed oral sex. It’s not the funniest of the bunch — Sweethearts still holds that title in my eyes — but it’s only a rung or two below. What it brings is a comforting, almost wholesome sex-positive voice in the realm of teen sex comedies.
The film centers on Abby Flores (Sam Morelos), a chronically flustered high school senior whose crush on classmate Max (Matt Cornett) gets turbocharged when she hears that he’s broken up with his longtime girlfriend and gets wind of a rumor that he’s “obsessed” with the 69 position. Abby, class-A virgin, decides she needs to level up fast. Her hare-brained scheme: a trip to local strip club Diamond Dolls to recruit someone with sexperience to be her mentor. She’s promptly ejected for being underage — but not before locking eyes with her soon-to-be-mentor, a stripper named Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman).
Santa Monica is the club’s top draw and Diamond Dolls’ unofficial den mother, but facing a quarter-life crisis as her 10-year high school reunion approaches and she has nothing but a rockin’ bod to show. She’s also in a professional panic: the club will close in a week unless $20,000 in debt is paid off. Meanwhile, Abby’s parents are conveniently out of town for Abby’s eighteenth birthday. One thing leads to another, and Abby hires Santa Monica to be her personal sex coach, offering the discretionary funds she has earned as a video game streamer as payment. The rest of the film is essentially a comedy-of-errors, R-rated training montage featuring sex toys and stilettos, with the club’s fate and Abby’s first kiss hanging in the balance.
The story zips along with a steady stream of solid laughs and two sharply drawn leads in Abby and Santa Monica. A few elements — like the midnight countdown to the debt deadline — run on movie logic, but Summer of 69 gets away with it thanks to clearly defined stakes and real comic chemistry between the headliners. Abby and Santa Monica are an unlikely but charming odd couple, one wide-eyed and over-enthusiastic, the other jaded but nurturing despite her thick shell.
I really enjoyed the acting in this film. Fineman and Morelos are very strong, with Morelos in particular a breakout. The 19-year-old has both the interiority and charisma, not to mention the comic chops, to carry a part like this — I can definitely see her sticking around the comedy scene or even starring in a sitcom. Fineman brings some snarky, sparkly energy that shows range for the SNL comedian, though I bought less into her dramatic moments than I did with Morelos. This is probably the most I’ve liked Cornett, the surprisingly durable and funny Disney teen hunk: tapping into his inner geek sands away his usual jock energy and makes me curious to see him get something more hefty. Paula Pell is a delight in a minor role as the club’s battle-hardened mama bear. And you know I’m 100% on board with any Natalie Morales appearance. (I did briefly imagine a version of this movie with Morales in the Fineman role. She could have pulled it off.)
Dating back to the ‘80s sex comedies like Porky’s and Revenge of the Nerds, and continuing through the aughts with my beloved Superbad, these coming-of-age raunchfests have often had a relationship with the female sex that’s questionable at best and toxic at worst. Even the ones with sympathetic cores, like the majority of American Pie, are usually framed almost exclusively through a straight teenage boy’s perspective. Summer of 69 flips that without making a show or big subversion of it. Instead, it just treats its teen girls and sex workers alike with generosity and even-handed barbs. It gives Summer of 69 a bit of a fresh voice while still feeling familiar and easygoing.
This is a streaming comedy, so don’t come looking for a lush production. But it’s never ugly, either. A few moments have some real flavor — especially a spooky-themed sex-shop fantasy sequence that layers on a blend of horny and Spirit Halloween imagery to clever effect. Luckily, the movie avoids the worst of the glossy and distorted sheen of streaming dregs (e.g. How to Date Billy Walsh).
I don’t know if we can call this a golden age of R-rated teen comedies, but we’re definitely in an age. It’s a little disappointing that theaters have mostly become comedy-free zones, but if the payoff is modest gems like Summer of 69, the streaming scavenger hunt is worth it. I’ve got my eye on American High, in particular — the scrappy little production company that turned an abandoned high school in upstate New York into an outlet for cheaply producing comedies starring New York City talent. Between Banana Split, Crush, and now this, they’re carving out a lane I’m happy to visit anytime.
Summer of 69 isn’t a game-changer, but it’s funny, sweet, and warm. It knows exactly what it wants to be and hits that target clean. And if we’re now getting teen sex comedies that have the texture of R-rated cable TV sitcoms, I’m okay with it.
Is It Good?
Good (5/8)
Dan is the founder and head critic of The Goods. Follow Dan on Letterboxd. Join the Discord for updates and discussion.