Let the “Backyard Beach Party” begin! Several years ago, I bought a projector so that we could watch movies outside on a warm summer night. While someone could probably provide more detail about the best projector to get and all the tech stuff, I was just told I needed to look for more lumens and I had a pretty cheap budget. We don’t have anything fancy and I project it against the back of the house. It has been a great way to get neighbors together and dream that we live near the ocean (We don’t – we live in Colorado!). In years past, it has been only a week of movies. This year, we will do a full month because we liked what we did last year and wanted to add a few more. There are older movies, newer movies, adult-oriented and kids’ movies. Also, when there is a remake, we almost always choose the original just because it is easier to find on Netflix or Hoopla Digital so it is cheaper than renting. Here is what our Beach Summer movie lineup looks like:
Moana – An adventurous teenager sails out on a daring mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana meets the once-mighty demigod Maui, who guides her in her quest to become a master way-finder. Together they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds. Along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient quest of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she always sought: her own identity.
Captain Ron
– When mild-mannered Martin Harvey (Martin Short) finds out that he has inherited a vintage yacht, he decides to take his family on a Caribbean vacation to retrieve the vessel. Upon arriving on a small island and realizing that the ship is in rough shape, Martin and his family end up with more than they bargained for as the roguish Captain Ron (Kurt Russell) signs on to sail the boat to Miami. It doesn’t take long before Ron’s anything-goes antics get the Harveys into plenty of trouble.
Fool’s Gold
– Treasure hunter Ben “Finn” Finnegan (Matthew McConaughey) has sunk his marriage to Tess (Kate Hudson) and his trusty boat in his obsessive quest to find the legendary Queen’s Dowry. When he finds a vital clue that may finally pinpoint the treasure’s whereabouts, he drags Tess and her boss, billionaire Nigel Honeycutt, along on the hunt. But Finn is not the only one interested in the gold; his former mentor-turned-enemy Moe Fitch (Ray Winstone) will stop at nothing to beat him to it.
Lilo & Stitch – A tale of a young girl’s close encounter with the galaxy’s most wanted extraterrestrial. Lilo is a lonely Hawaiian girl who adopts a small ugly “dog,” whom she names Stitch. Stitch would be the perfect pet if he weren’t in reality a genetic experiment who has escaped from an alien planet and crash-landed on Earth. Through her love, faith and unwavering belief in ohana, the Hawaiian concept of family, Lilo helps unlock Stitch’s heart and gives him the ability to care for someone else.
Teen Beach Movie
– A couple of surfers are mysteriously transported into a beach party movie, where opponents break into song and dance as they battle for the beach hangout.
Jaws
– When a young woman is killed by a shark while skinny-dipping near the New England tourist town of Amity Island, police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) wants to close the beaches, but mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) overrules him, fearing that the loss of tourist revenue will cripple the town. Ichthyologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and grizzled ship captain Quint (Robert Shaw) offer to help Brody capture the killer beast, and the trio engage in an epic battle of man vs. nature.
Pirates of the Caribbean (original)
– Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) arrives at Port Royal in the Caribbean without a ship or crew. His timing is inopportune, however, because later that evening the town is besieged by a pirate ship. The pirates kidnap the governor’s daughter, Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), who’s in possession of a valuable coin that is linked to a curse that has transformed the pirates into the undead. A gallant blacksmith (Orlando Bloom) in love with Elizabeth allies with Sparrow in pursuit of the pirates. (You could probably have a whole week on all the Pirates movies).
Blue Crush – Nothing gets between Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) and her board. Living in a beach shack with three roommates including her rebellious younger sister, she is up before dawn every morning to conquer the waves and count the days until the Rip Masters surf competition. Anne Marie finds all she needs in the adrenaline-charged surf scene … until pro quarterback Matt Tollman (Matthew Davis) comes along. Like it or not, Anne Marie starts losing her balance – and finding it – as she falls for Matt.
Point Break
– Thrill-seeking criminals perform a series of daredevil stunts to steal money and gems, only to give it away to the poor and less fortunate. Training for a job with the FBI, young recruit Johnny Utah suspects that only extreme athletes could pull off these heists. Utilizing his own special skills, Utah infiltrates the gang of thieves after befriending their charismatic leader, Bodhi. As Johnny experiences the rush of their lifestyle, his superiors fear that his loyalties are being tested.
50 First Dates
– Playboy vet Henry sets his heart on romancing Lucy, but she has short-term memory loss; she can’t remember anything that happened the day before. So every morning, Henry has to woo her again. Her friends and family are very protective, and Henry must convince them that he’s in it for love.
Weekend at Bernie’s
– Fun-loving salesmen Richard (Jonathan Silverman) and Larry (Andrew McCarthy) are invited by their boss, Bernie (Terry Kiser), to stay the weekend at his posh beach house. Little do they know that Bernie is the perpetrator of a fraud they’ve uncovered and is arranging to have them killed. When the plan backfires and Bernie is killed instead, the buddies decide not to let a little death spoil their vacation. They pretend Bernie is still alive, leading to hi-jinks and corpse desecration galore.
Dolphin Tale
– While swimming free in the ocean, a young dolphin gets caught in a trap and severely damages her tail. Though she is rescued and transported to Clearwater Marine Hospital, her tail cannot be saved, and the prognosis is dire. What the dolphin, now named Winter, needs is a miracle. She gets that miracle in the form of a marine biologist (Harry Connick Jr.), a prosthetic designer (Morgan Freeman), and a devoted boy (Nathan Gamble), who find a way to help Winter swim again.
Lovewrecked
– An 18-year-old girl is ecstatic when she finds out that her favorite rock star is a guest at the tropical resort where she is working for the summer. When they are both thrown overboard during a cruise and find themselves stranded on a remote beach, she fails to tell him the beach is just down the road from the resort.
Flipper – Two children find adventure with their pet dolphin.
Aquamarine
– Two teenage girls (Joanna “JoJo” Levesque, Emma Roberts) discover that mermaids really do exist after a violent storm washes one ashore. The mermaid, a sassy creature named Aquamarine (Sara Paxton), is determined to prove to her father that real love exists, and enlists the girls’ help in winning the heart of a handsome lifeguard (Jake McDorman).
Overboard
– Snobbish and wealthy Joanna Stayton (Goldie Hawn) is living a life of leisure with her husband, Grant (Edward Herrmann), when she falls off their yacht and suffers amnesia. Grant takes the opportunity to rid himself of the demanding Joanna — but Dean (Kurt Russell), a widowed carpenter with four kids who once worked for Joanna, arrives and claims she’s his wife. Joanna can’t remember her past identity, but has trouble believing that she was ever meant to be a working-class mother of four.
Out to Sea
– Retired friends Charlie (Walter Matthau) and Herb (Jack Lemmon) pose as dance instructors on a cruise ship in this comedy. The underhanded Charlie coaxes his recently widowed brother-in-law to join him on board without disclosing the two will need to dance. Instead Charlie promises there will be plenty of available and lonely women at sea. Once on the ship, Charlie’s promise proves accurate, and he starts romancing the wealthy Liz (Dyan Cannon), while Herb falls for Vivian (Gloria DeHaven).
Blue Lagoon – Seven-year-old cousins Emmeline (Elva Josephson) and Richard (Glenn Kohan) survive a shipwreck and find themselves marooned on a beautiful island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Under the tutelage of a fellow castaway, Paddy Button (Leo McKern), the two learn the basics of survival. When Paddy dies, however, the now adolescent Emmeline (Brooke Shields) and Richard (Christopher Atkins) are on their own to discover sex, love and loneliness in a tropical paradise.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
– Struggling musician Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) is better-known as the boyfriend of TV star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). After she unceremoniously dumps him, he feels lost and alone but makes a last-ditch bid to get over it by going to Hawaii. However, she and her new boyfriend (Russell Brand) are there in the same hotel.
Couples Retreat – Four couples, all friends, descend on a tropical island resort. Though one husband and wife are there to work on their marriage, the others just want to enjoy some fun in the sun. They soon find, however, that paradise comes at a price: Participation in couples’ therapy sessions is mandatory. What started out as a cut-rate vacation turns into an examination of the common problems many face.
Just Go With It
– His heart recently broken, plastic surgeon Danny Maccabee (Adam Sandler) pretends to be married so he can enjoy future dates with no strings attached. His web of lies works, but when he meets Palmer (Brooklyn Decker) — the gal of his dreams — she resists involvement. Instead of coming clean, Danny enlists Katherine (Jennifer Aniston), his assistant, to pose as his soon-to-be-ex-wife. Instead of solving Danny’s problems, the lies create more trouble.
Six Days, Seven Nights
– In the South Pacific island of Makatea, career-driven magazine editor Robin Monroe (Anne Heche) is on a week-long vacation getaway with her boyfriend, Frank Martin (David Schwimmer). A work assignment in neighboring Tahiti requires Robin to hire a cargo plane piloted by the cantankerous Quinn Harris (Harrison Ford). But when a powerful storm forces Quinn to make an emergency landing on a nearby deserted island, the dissimilar pair learn to set aside their differences in order to find rescue.
Into the Blue
– Divers Sam (Jessica Alba) and Jared (Paul Walker) love life in the Bahamas. But when friends Bryce (Scott Caan) and Amanda (Ashley Scott) visit, the couple take them on a treasure-hunting trip, where they discover more than they bargained for: a downed airplane full of cocaine alongside a famous shipwreck. Unknown to Sam and Jared, Bryce makes a fatal mistake and decides to sell the cocaine — which angers a group of drug dealers, who are now in hot pursuit of the divers.
Aloha
– While on assignment in Oahu, Hawaii, military contractor Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper) reconnects with his old flame Tracy Woodside (Rachel McAdams), now married to an Air Force recruit (John Krasinski). He also spends time with Allison Ng (Emma Stone), a hard-nosed fighter pilot who watches every move that he makes. As they travel throughout the lush terrain, Brian finds himself falling for his feisty guide, while his conversations with Tracy may provide a shocking revelation from their past.
Zeus & Roxanne
– Marine biologist Mary Beth is amused by the friendship which develops between her dolphin Roxanne and a dog called Zeus. She’s even more surprised when she starts to fall for the dog’s owner, rock composer Terry.
Surf’s Up
– Surfing means everything to teenage penguin Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf). Followed by a documentary film crew, he leaves his home in Antarctica for Pen Gu Island, site of the Big Z Memorial Surf Off. Cody wants to be respected and admired, and he believes that winning the competition will bring him what he craves. However, an encounter with washed-up surfer Geek (Jeff Bridges) teaches Cody about what is truly important.
Endless Summer
– Documentary filmmaker Bruce Brown, himself a competition-level surfer, follows surfers Michael Hynson and Robert August on an around-the-world surfing adventure. With Brown’s wry, sardonic narration and a twangy, guitar-driven instrumental soundtrack by The Sandals playing over the silent footage, Mike and Rob leave their California home to visit Hawaii, Australia, South Africa and other secluded surfing spots in a search for the surfer’s holy grail that Brown dubs “The Perfect Wave.”
The Way Way Back
– Duncan (Liam James) is an awkward teen who must spend the summer at a beach house with his mother (Toni Collette), her boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell), and Trent’s obnoxious daughter. Trent can’t resist badgering Duncan, so the youth steals away to a water park and gets a job that will help him stay off Trent’s radar. As Duncan tends to the slides and pools of the aging park, he finds a father figure in wisecracking park manager Owen (Sam Rockwell) at a time when he desperately needs one.
Mama Mia
– Donna (Meryl Streep), an independent hotelier in the Greek islands, is preparing for her daughter’s wedding with the help of two old friends. Meanwhile Sophie, the spirited bride, has a plan. She secretly invites three men from her mother’s past in hope of meeting her real father and having him escort her down the aisle on her big day.
Beach Blanket Bingo
– Frankie (Frankie Avalon) and the gang are hitting the beach for some good old-fashioned shenanigans. To get the party underway, the manager (Paul Lynde) of pop singer Sugar Kane (Linda Evans) decides a skydiving publicity stunt will really do the trick. As Frankie and the others are pulled into the plan, things get out of control. Throw in Bonehead (Jody McCrea) falling in love with a mermaid (Marta Kristen) and a kidnapping biker (Harvey Lembeck), and the party’s just getting started.
Castaway
– Obsessively punctual FedEx executive Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is en route to an assignment in Malaysia when his plane crashes over the Pacific Ocean during a storm. The sole survivor of the flight, Chuck washes ashore on a deserted island. When his efforts to sail away and contact help fail, Chuck learns how to survive on the island, where he remains for years, accompanied by only his handmade volleyball friend, Wilson. Will Chuck ever return to civilization and reunite with his loved ones?
