Summer of 69 (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – Abby seeks to impress her crush by learning a specific sexual position, enlisting a stripper’s help. However, she realizes true self-discovery and lasting friendship are more valuable.

My Take – Though I have often found former Saturday Night Live writer and comic performer Jillian Bell mostly hit-and-miss when it comes to her delivery in the multiple roles she has appeared in, but for her directorial debut, which dropped on Hulu last weekend, I was pleasantly left quite surprised. Mainly due to rather interesting approach.

Structured with a breezy, retro vibe and a provocative gender flipped premise that sees a quirky teenage girl hire an exotic dancer to seduce the boy she’s been silently obsessing over for years, her film works by leaning into its absurdity and by throwing in some coming-of-age awkwardness and a touch of raunchy comedy into the mix.

Resulting in a likable coming-of-age story that manages to contains a few ironic moments and enough subtle dark humor to provide a delightful one time experience.

Sure, it is not perfect, it won’t be for everyone, and as a director Bell struggles to tie this all together, in the sleekly commercial way we want and expect within territory such as this, but somehow it seems aware of that and instead is more interested in being a homage to classic teen cinema by delivering enough amusing moments that can be enjoyed without any major hang-ups.

It also helps that the film is anchored by Chloe Fineman and Sam Morelos’ natural chemistry that adds believable stakes to their characters’ relationships.

The story follows Abby (Sam Morelos), an awkward teen gamer who doesn’t have many friends or much of a social life. She’s a shy loner prone to daydreaming, and spends most of her nights playing video games in a live-stream on Glitch for a dedicated audience. An unconventional side gig through which has been able to earn thousands of dollars that will finally allow her to buy a car.

However, everything changes when she finds out that Max (Matt Cornett), her classmate on whom she has had a long-running obsession, has finally broken up with his longtime girlfriend, making it the perfect time to get in his vision, considering they have had only small talk all this time. But when she hears through the grapevine that Max is a fan of the 69 position and Abby, whose experience of kissing has been limited to the back of her hand, she is left woolly.

That is until, she wanders into a strip club one day after school and watches stripper Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman) enchant every man in the room. Convinced that this is the kind of assistance she needs, she enlists her coaching services via the promise of a $20,000 payment.

A perfect amount considering Santa Monica plans to use to buy the strip club where she works back from a slimy debtor Rick Richards (Charlie Day) and become a full-time owner, after the current boss, Betty (Paula Pell), made a series of poor financial decisions that now threatens to leave Santa Monica and her co-workers Destiny (Nicole Byer) and Angel (Liza Koshy) without jobs.

Following somewhat in the footsteps of Superbad (2007), Booksmart (2019) and Bottoms (2023), here, director Bell, who co-wrote the film with Jules Byrne and Liz Nico, has constructed a familiar film that checks the boxes of classic teen comedies by presenting a charming protagonist, her reluctant co-conspirator and a gallery of characters who support their antics and propel the humorous drama.

Her direction is for the most part impressive although her lurches into surrealism don’t always work (like the sex shop haunted house sequence which felt so unnecessary). And though the film’s logic is less intentionally surreal yet frequently baffling and the world she has created often not making a whole lot of sense, yet it’s filled with enough earnest charm that we don’t mind spending 100 minutes in it.

Despite the title’s suggestion, the film never gets into truly brash or raunchy territory, but alternatively is more focused on the kind of sweet, unlikely friendships that make teen comedies memorable. We see how Santa Monica, despite battling relatable internal demons, instruct Abby on how to be sexy. Though her lessons are comical and their related excursions endearing, her main gist comes down to how confidence in the bedroom really begins outside of it. All the while the stripper too ends up learning a thing or two.

The central irony of the film is that while Abby hopes to emulate Santa Monica’s hyper-feminine eroticism, the stripper is actually acutely ashamed of herself, particularly as the prospect of attending a high school reunion swiftly approaches.

While Abby is under the impression that men worship Santa Monica for her beauty and sexuality, the truth is that she’s the primary target for their most misogynistic urges. Subconsciously or not, Abby’s discomfort in her own skin means that she is hoping not to truly gain confidence in herself, but project confidence in a way that men find appealing but non-threatening.

However, the screenplay groans a little, when it begins contorting itself to make it clear that she’s a sex worker sometimes disgusted by her customers’ behavior, but not ashamed of herself; superficial and sometimes dismissive of her dorky charge. It works best when it is focused on the growing spark between the pair, even when it is predictably structured, with the inevitably dramatic final act fight and the inevitably show-stopping win-her-back act of public speaking. Mainly as it comes from a simple realization that they both just need a friend to rely and converse with.

Performance wise, Chloe Fineman pulls off the comedic demands of her role with commendable ease. Santa Monica’s combination of confidence and primped-out illusion makes Fineman a great choice to play an exotic dancer catering to both her own style and an expected audience, even if only the comedy version. On the other hand, Sam Morelos (That 90s Show) brings an endearing turn that prevents Abby from being just a nerdy caricature or an obvious punchline. She makes her naiveté and self-consciousness winning, charming, and and her occasional forays into physical comedy feel natural.

The duo are also backed by a solid supporting cast that includes the likes of Nicole Byer, Paula Pell, Liza Koshy, Natalie Morales, Matt Cornett and Charlie Day, who do a fine job of buoying the film. On the whole, ‘Summer of 69‘ is a modestly quirky coming-of-age comedy with the right blend of humor and heart.