Summer of '69
- Streaming on Hulu -
I don't know why I watched this. It popped up on my Hulu feed and I just let it finish. Maybe I kept it going for no other reason than to see whether Chloe Fineman (an SNL cast member who doesn't completely suck) has any potential other than sketch comedy. For whatever reason, I let it go.
The story is kind of ridiculous. A chubby, frizzy-haired teenaged girl fantasizes about getting with a good-looking kid at school. In real life? Less than a zero percent chance. But this is the movies - movies that seem hellbent on pairing people who'd never have a modicum of interest in each other, all in the name of diversity.
Frizz head hears from her high school mascot that the object of her desire is a big fan of "doing the 69." In an effort to gain knowledge before she (I guess?) throws herself prostrate at his feet, Frizz head engages the services of a local stripper (Fineman) to learn about all about sexual confidence and doing the 69 deed.
Early on, I thought there were some similarities to Risky Business - a concept the script acknowledged by leaning heavily into the comparison later on. It sneaks in nods to several other of the 80s films that made up the genre.
There are a lot of common "coming of age" topics that are addressed in the film, but it takes things too far. It's too crude, too vulgar, too much. On top of that? It just isn't funny. It's not funny enough to be a comedy, it's not deep enough to move you. It just doesn't work. Part of that is the lead girl. Frizz-head just isn't really likeable. She fails to project any of the attributes we really need her to have, and there's nothing - absolutely nothing - in her character that would make the guy she pursues remotely interested in her.
Fineman isn't bad, actually. She just needs to find a better vehicle to showcase her talents. Her way-too-long scene where she's stripping and holding onto her heels is pretty sexily hot, frankly, but it's out-of-place in what's supposed to be a movie aimed at teens. It just takes things a step too far.
I think Fineman has potential. She shows flashes of talent. Frizz-head has none. Zero. The movie is predictable. It didn't make me want to vomit, but I can't really recommend watching it.
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