Summertime is the perfect time to gather friends and embark on an adventure, and these ten iconic coming-of-age summer movies have captured that invigorating experience. From The Sandlot to Dazed and Confused, summer movies often recall a time when any day could turn into a cherished adventure. Adults may control most of the year, but kids rule the summer. Whether someone’s staying at home, reconnecting with old friends, or experiencing the ions of a new romance, these ten films convey that summer venture into maturity.
The coming-of-age genre can be equally fantastical and personal. Filmmakers like George Lucas and Cameron Crowe have made their own summer films, Almost Famous and American Graffiti, based on their lives, yet they were still able to resonate with generations of audiences. These coming-of-age summer movies are considered iconic for their ability to transport viewers into different periods and portray the imagination and growing pains of youth.
10 Stand By Me
Stand By Me takes place during Labor Day weekend in 1959, a time when school was just starting and also, historically, a time when the US was on the cusp of radical change. The film follows four boys and their quest to find a dead body, while their friendships are tested and strengthened by the laughs and tears they share. What starts as a fun, imaginative adventure becomes a sobering goodbye to youth and a reflection on grief. Will Wheaton and River Phoenix give especially raw performances as two friends ing each other through abuse and loss. Stand By Me understands that youth is fleeting, but friendships can be eternal.
9 Almost Famous
Almost Famous is a tribute to rock n’ roll, its fans, and a summer of growing pains in 1973. The film chronicles much of writer and director Cameron Crowe’s actual experiences as a young music journalist for Rolling Stone magazine. In Almost Famous, fifteen-year-old William Miller gets a chance to tour with the rising rock band Stillwater and soon finds a home in this group of musicians, fans, and misfits. Will is homesick yet adventurous, reserved yet willing to have his whole life challenged in a dramatic way. This depiction of earnest growth makes Almost Famous a coming-of-age masterpiece.
8 The Sandlot
In the summer of 1962, Benny and the rest of The Sandlot gang play baseball away from responsibilities and adults. The film is shown through the eyes of the new kid, Smalls, as he learns the traditions and quirks of his new friends. The Sandlot feels like it's based on a true story and since adults are rarely seen, the movie becomes exciting and nostalgic for kids and adults alike. The Sandlot takes place in a world where kids endure getting kicked out of the pool, puking on roller coasters, and fighting off monstrous dogs. The most legendary stories from youth happen when the parents aren’t looking.
7 Now And Then
Now and Then is a cult classic that weaves a nostalgic tale about young girls growing up in the summer of 1970. The coming-of-age dramedy centers on four women who have been friends for twenty years, and includes a stellar ensemble featuring Christina Ricci, Demi Moore, Thora Birch, Rosie O’Donnell, and a Brendan Fraser cameo. Now and Then provides an accurate portrait of teens coping with parental divorce, puberty, and overprotective parents, yet makes time for more playful memories like a prank war with boys too. Now and Then has endured and grown its audience over the years because anyone can identify with at least one of the girls in the movie.
6 Adventureland
Adventureland shows the life of recent college graduate James Brennan as he returns home and gets a job at a local amusement park. Unlike other coming-of-age movies that provide sentimental scenes of adolescence, Adventureland explores the awkward phase between going to college and gaining a potential career. The comedy takes place in the summer of 1987 and includes 40 songs that provide the soundtrack to all the antics, troubles, and romance that having a summer job entails. Adventureland portrays the limbo period between adulthood and youth that can happen in one’s early 20s and emphasizes that no matter how old or educated one is, there’s still plenty to learn.
5 Moonrise Kingdom
Wes Anderson’s only film with children at the center is also one of his most endearing. Moonrise Kingdom depicts the romance between two star-crossed, misfit kids whose parents and summer camp try to keep them apart. Director Wes Anderson’s warm color palette and visual symmetry are on full display, yet the sweet depiction of young love can soften the most calloused audiences. Moonrise Kingdom serves as an ode to summers away from home and finding a ionate connection with someone in the unlikeliest of places.
4 Dazed and Confused
Dazed and Confused kicks off on the last day of high school in 1973 and focuses on different groups of friends intermingling as they prepare for a party that night. Director Richard Linklater covers multiple points of view, from the jocks to the nerds, the stoners to the incoming freshmen, and all of them can unite for a night of fun. The film’s 1970s soundtrack and Matthew McConaughey’s signature catchphrase, Alright, Alright, Alright," immerse the viewer into this group of friends and make any audience member part of the gang. Dazed and Confused conveys a time at the start of summer when possibilities and good times feel limitless.
3 Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is one of the rare summer coming-of-age movies that doesn’t hark back to a pastime but embraces the trends of the early 2000s. The premise of four women sharing a pair of pants that fits all of them is the type of bonding experience that happens with the best of friends. The film provides a twist on friendship stories by showing the first summer these four best friends spend apart from each other. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is able to convey lessons from first romance, death, and the isolation of being someplace far away from those you love.
2 American Graffiti
George Lucas’ American Graffiti is an ode to his youth and where he grew up. Set in Modesto, California, in 1962, American Graffiti focuses on high school graduates on their last day of summer vacation before they go their separate ways. The film’s exploration of cruising culture combined with early rock n’ roll and 1960s dance crazes can make anyone nostalgic for this time period. Lucas’ coming-of-age dramedy also features a young Harrison Ford, Ron Howard, and Richard Dreyfuss as a teen unsure of the path he wants to take and if he wants to leave home.
1 The Goonies
The Goonies is a classic adventure story, but its fantastical solutions to adult problems make the film a quintessential coming-of-age movie too. Mikey and his friends have grown up in the Goon Docks, but when a company threatens to foreclose on their family homes, the Goonies must find a way to save their neighborhood. While the film taps into viewers’ childlike wonder by showing this gang of kids discovering a treasure map and searching for One-Eyed Willy’s hidden treasure, The Goonies also portrays kids grappling with loss and finding agency in each other. The Goonies shows kids swearing, fighting, and making dumb choices, yet they're always there for each other.
