Diractors is an ongoing series in which Hassle writer Jack Draper examines films, new and old, whose directors are better known for their work in front of the camera.
Summer of 69 ends up being more than what meets the eye. It’s a movie that’s an achievement in heart and laughs, something nonexistent in theaters and deceptively hard to pull off nowadays. The “death of the studio comedy” has a eulogy that is still being written, even when there are still signs of life in the past 15 years. What we learn from original blockbusters, which can apply to original comedies, is that all people really desire are movies with a voice and identity (Nope, Sinners). As anyone who knows her mannerisms, Summer of 69 is so Jillian Bell. When we look at comedians here on Diractors, it depends on their filmmaking to have their voice as a director feel like an extension of their presence as a comedian. Jillian Bell smashes what she aims for and makes a movie that could’ve been a true phenomenon 15 years ago. Even though it’s a bit timid with how far it’s willing to go as a sex comedy, its performances are charming enough to forgive any half measures.
Like any teen, Abby (Sam Morelos– That ’90s Show, anyone?) is ready for sex– preferably with her crush, Max (Matt Cornett), now that he is finally single. In a very funny moment, Abby finds out his favorite position is 69, and, with no experience, enlists the help of a local stripper Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman, in her first lead role, somehow). Monica, in turn, is attempting to save her club from being bought out, and Abby promises to give her enough money in return for sexual help. From there, the two begin to form a genuine friendship that goes beyond getting Abby laid, but then they see some genuine care towards Santa Monica. In my favorite scene in the movie, Santa Monica attends her high school reunion and encounters her class president, Robin (Natalie Morales). She is taken aback when she learns that Robin is more miserable than her life as a realtor may seem, and her husband is cheating on her. For Santa Monica, the joy of sex has come so naturally and so natural and routinely that assisting Abby is an opportunity for her to feel a sense of pride again.
Jillian Bell is in a really interesting spot to be a writer/director. She wrote for SNL for a season (so it makes sense she’d eye an SNL performer). Fineman is up to the task of anything that Bell wants, as this is the kind of role she’s writing for someone to avoid a particular typecast. A big, showy role with agency, confidence, and authenticity for Fineman that in another case, for a Diractor, Bell may play herself. Movies didn’t really know what to do with Bell, someone who understands comedy with a background in The Groundlings. Her status as a comedy actor in movies isn’t guaranteed in today’s culture, as she got famous in the last wave with appearances in 22 Jump St, Office Christmas Party and Rough Night, but she’s clearly trying to recapture something that doesn’t have a mass audience anymore like No Hard feelings reached for a few years ago. Its nice to see that Bell has an eye that is lacking sometimes in raunchy studio comedies, as in a genuine fantasy sequence that is as absurd as it is sweet. Teenage yearning turned horniess is played for laughs when the two are mixed up. I’m excited to see where Bell goes from here, especially how she can improve as a screenwriter.
Summer of 69
2025
dir. Jillian Bell
100 min.
Now streaming on Hulu
