Film Review: SUMMER OF 69 (2025): An Endearing Comedy with Heart, Humor and a Few Crass Jokes Along the Way

Summer of 69 Review

Summer of 69 (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Jillian Bell, written by Jules Byrne, Liz Nico and Jillian Bell and starring Chloe Fineman, Sam Morelos, Matt Cornett, Nicole Byer, Liza Koshy, Natalie Morales, Paula Pell, Charlie Day, Alex Moffat, Fernando Carsa, Scott Connors, Emy Coligado,  Ava DeMary, Ellie Santos, Mason Gozzi, Luciana VanDette, Alina Santos and James Kelly.

Summer of 69 is a fun, new comedy that is undermined by bouts of humor that don’t always hit the bullseye despite the fact that the movie’s basic premise is rather creative and fun to watch. It’s directed by Jillian Bell who also co-wrote the screenplay and she’s a wildly energetic talent when she is in front of the camera acting. Behind it, she’s equally intriguing and the new film has a wild side that is reminiscent of some of her recent performances.

This picture isn’t necessarily raunchy, but it feels toned down a bit from the totally wild bits we’ve come to expect from Bell after seeing her work as an actress. Summer of 69 features the story of a young, but awkward, high school girl named Abby (Sam Morelos) who yearns to be with the boy of her dreams. This film opens with a few looks back at how Abby came to like her crush, Max (a charismatic Matt Cornett), as a young girl. When the current day Abby asks a mascot at a school sports game what makes Max happy, the mascot tells her that Max loves “69.” Assuming that’s the sexual position, Abby immediately looks for ways to improve her game sexually even though she’s inexperienced sexually. This makes for some sexual humor that plays a lot more innocently than you may expect it to.

Enter Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman), a blonde 20-something stripper who works for a woman known as Betty Spaghetti (Paula Pell, very funny here). Betty owes a shady guy named Rick (Charlie Day) $20,000, and with little way to raise the money in the allotted time, Betty decides she will probably have to shut down the strip club. Meanwhile, Abby, who makes money with an online alter ego, calls the club and hopes to get lessons in sex from a stripper. Santa Monica shows up at her house and wants to collect some easy cash and be on her way, but Abby offers her the opportunity to train her in the art of 69 which leads them to develop a strange sort of friendship. Abby promises Santa Monica she could get her the much-needed $20K for her services, but she doesn’t really have it which complicates the story line.

Abby learns a lot from Santa Monica who hates small talk. Santa Monica shows Abby Risky Business, the Tom Cruise film, and the pair have fun learning from each other’s different styles of living. Eventually, Santa Monica realizes that Abby may not be ready for what she thinks she wants in regards to having sexual fun with Max. Abby is who she is and shouldn’t rush something that doesn’t need to be rushed.

There’s a fun and effective scene where Santa Monica goes to her high school reunion and reconnects with a classmate named Robin (a terrific Natalie Morales of My Dead Friend Zoe fame). Robin admits she hasn’t sold a house at her realtor job and that her husband is cheating on her which makes Santa Monica feel not so alone when it comes to her own problems in life. This is really Abby’s story more than Santa Monica’s although director Bell gives both actresses a fair amount of screen time to develop them as characters. Abby is charismatic and clever as played by Morelos although some things in the story line happen way too quickly to feel truly authentic.

There’s a fair amount of trite humor present as well. When Santa Monica talks about poo and other goofy stuff, it feels unnecessarily pedestrian. Still, the chemistry is there between Morelos and Fineman as they develop a bond that ultimately becomes rather touching in its overall construction. Although the movie is, for the most part, life-affirming, some things happen that feel too pat and the ending seems like its a really tacked-on happy one that settles the money problems of Santa Monica and her boss a little too easily.

Still, Summer of 69 is a pleasant enough diversion. Morelos gives her character a lot of depth and intelligence which makes her a relatable and likable presence in the film. Fineman is also on board too with a fairly believable character transformation at her helm. I felt the plot wasn’t completely predictable where the romance between Abby and Max was concerned, but everything is still wrapped up neatly with a bow at the end which doesn’t really satisfy anyone looking for a more realistic spin on this interesting story. However if you like a good, funny happily-ever-after, this movie is enjoyable and quite humorous for all its goofy takes on the difficult subject of teenage sex and growing up. I kinda liked it despite its flaws and think it has appeal that could make it a streaming hit.

Rating: 7/10

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