Despite its raunchy, suggestive title – yeah, there’s a reason there’s no comma alluding to 69 being a year – Jillian Bell‘s directorial debut, Summer of 69, is actually a particularly sweet, coming-of-age comedy that injects more than enough heart into proceedings to offset its teen-sex-comedy mentality.
Much like Superbad, Booksmart and Bottoms before it, Summer of 69 – which, despite its streaming release, feels like one of those sleeper big screen successes that nets itself over $100 million at the box office – centres itself around an awkward teenager who possesses a lot more charm and power than they dare to realise. Said teen is Abby Flores (Sam Morelos, a real gem), a high school senior who feels invisible in the realms of her school, but is something of an anonymous internet sensation; under a character mask she’s earned quite the following as an impressive gamer. As skilled as she is online, she’s far less experienced in real life, and when she learns that her hunky high school sweetheart Max (Matt Cornett) is now single – he’s had the same girlfriend for the entirety of his schooling existence – she thinks it’s time to pounce before their school year is up. The only problem being, she has no idea what exactly it is she needs to do.
Abby is so inexperienced that when she’s asked about porn, her response is “…ography?”, and given that she has no friends to detail her lustings to, she does what any sexually curious teenager does: she hires an exotic dancer to teach her the ways of being a woman. Enter Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman, the SNL alum truly delivering a movie star-making performance), whose unbridled confidence on stage ignites something within Abby. So much so that she agrees to pay Santa Monica $20,000 for a week’s workshop on how to perfect the 69. You see, Abby is under the impression that Max’s favourite sexual act is the 69, and as much as the money she’s been earning from her gaming sessions have been funding her dream car purchase, she’s willing to risk it all on Santa Monica’s expertise.
It’s also of coincidence that the sum Santa Monica demands from Abby is the amount needed for the venue she dances at from going under. Questionably run by the industry legend that is Betty Spaghetti (Paula Pell, a riot), Santa Monica has entrepreneurial aspirations, and she refuses to let the club from being snatched up by the lecherous Rick Richards (Charlie Day), so she barters that if she can raise the amount, she goes in as a partner. What could possibly go wrong?
Whilst it’s clear that seminal genre titles like Risky Business have a clear influence over Summer of 69 – the iconic “dancing in underwear” moment is given a few shout-outs across this film’s brisk 100 minutes – Bell’s comedy is still very much its own creation. It has an affection for the 1980s teen comedy, but it avoids any of the grossness that makes some of the formative films of that time much harder to watch nowadays; we’re looking at you Sixteen Candles. It also helps that Bell’s script, written in conjunction with Liz Nico and Jules Byrne, is consistently, deliriously funny, and further enhanced by the prime comedic skills of its ensemble; Nicole Byer, Liza Koshy and Alex Moffat providing amusing support turns as a duo of dancers and the club DJ, respectively, whilst even Bell manages to elicit hefty laughter with the smallest delivery as a cashier at an adult shop.
On the mention of Bell, she’s long been one of the industry’s funniest performers, and Summer of 69 feels very much like an extension of her humour. There’s certain jokes, sight gags and line delivery that feel like something Bell would commit to, and it’s with that that assists the film in feeling like a more authentic project as her directorial debut. It’s a strong way to start this aspect of her career, and as much as Summer of 69 adheres to the narrative beats we come to expect from films of this ilk – there’s the emotional break between the leads and an expected happy ending to cap off on a high note – it maintains a sense of knowing when to pivot from one outline to the next. Comedians can so often over-indulge in their own being, but Bell has an assured perception of when to cut, which only enhances Summer of 69‘s personality as a readily digestible comedy treat.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Summer of 69 is now available to stream on Hulu in the United States. An Australian release is expected soon.
