Teen sex comedies used to be all the rage. Who can forgetJason Biggsejaculating into an apple pie inAmerican PieorMichelle TrachtenbergandTravis Westers' “twincest” inEuroTrip? The sub-genre has died down over the years, largely because films likePorky’shave aged like milk. Even still, we’ve seen the sub-genre succeed recently, with films likeNo Hard FeelingsandBottoms, as well as the hit Netflix seriesSex Education.
The production company American High has attempted to resurrect the teen sex comedy to more modern standards. Founded byJeremy Garelick, whose filmography includes films likeThe HangoverandThe Break-Up, the company has produced quite a few movies already, includingBig Time Adolescence,Plan B, andThe Binge, all of which were filmed in the same high school in New York. The company has also allowed opportunities for filmmakers to make their first features, includingNatalie MoralesandSammi Cohen. With their latest heartfelt raunchy comedy,Summer of 69,Jillian Bellgets her chance to step behind the camera after starring in comedies such asBrittany Runs a MarathonandWorkaholics.
What Is ‘Summer of 69’ About?
High school senior Abby Flores (Sam Morelos) doesn’t know much about sex. Despite spending her entire childhood lusting over her handsome classmate Max (Matt Cornett), Abby has spent much of her time either paying the school’s mascot for advice and gossip or making money playing video games on a Twitch-like website called Glitch. Unfortunately for her, Max has been with the same girl since grade school, and it doesn’t seem like they’ll ever break up. Abby’s lucky day finally comes when she learns thatMax hasfinallybroken up with his girlfriend, giving her the open window she’s long dreamed of. But again, she still doesn’t know anything about sex. So, when the school mascot tells her that Max loves to 69, she figures that she’ll have to gain some sexual knowledge fast.
Upon entering the local run-down strip club Diamond Dolls, Abby stumbles upon the dedicated stripper Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman). Abby is enamored by Santa Monica’s confidence and cooks up a scheme to quickly get into contact with her. Upon their first meeting, Santa Monica is skeptical of Abby, but with her place of employment at risk of going under new ownership by the sleazeball Rick Richards (Charlie Day), she offers to help the teen, for a price of $20K. Santa Monica whisks Abby away on a journey of sexual discovery, including a visit to a haunted sex shop run by a kooky shop owner played by Bell, and an important viewing ofRisky Business. Along the way, the two women begin to bond with each other, and the stripper instills confidence into her eager new client.
‘Summer of 69’ Is About More Than Just Sex
WhileSummer of 69definitely falls under the umbrella of the teen sex comedy (the title isn’t just a reference to theBryan Adamssong), it isn’t all raunch. Much like the best of the sub-genre, Bell’s directorial debut is largely a story about the power of friendship and finding oneself, with the occasional spurts of dildos and f-bombs. Bell has already proven herself in front of the camera with her scene-stealing roles in22 Jump StreetandThe Night Before, and with her first featureshe shows that she’s also got a strong knack for making movies too.
WhileSummer of 69will be released directly to Hulu later this year, you shouldn’t discount it as just another straight-to-streamingteen comedy. It’s so much more than that. From a gleeful musical number in its opening credits, Bell and co-writersLiz NicoandJules Byrnedelivera script that is just as much about its characters as it is about making the audience laugh, if not even more so. As a director, Bell plays around with what you might expect from your typical teen comedy, full of exaggerated characters paired with a story that feels relatable and earnest. CinematographerMaria Ruschealso makes sure to include a wide array of visual gags throughout the movie. So much so, that you may find yourself pausing the movie to see if you may have missed anything.
Despite its mature rating, it definitely seems like Bell madeSummer of 69with an older teen audience in mind. It’s not the kind of movie that a sex-ed teacher might show in the classroom, but it is a movie with positive messages for the 15-18 crowd, especially young women.Summer of 69isn’t a movie about how losing your virginity will change your life forever, it’s more like the antithesis to that,delivering a message about how our culture puts too much pressure on sex, and it’s totally fine to be a late bloomer. Still, you don’t have to be currently going through adolescence to find enjoyment in the movie, there’s so much to like. Yes, the story itself is about as formulaic as these kinds of movies come, but Bell and her team’s execution takes it a step further, resulting in an unexpectedly sweet result.
Chloe Fineman and Sam Morelos Share Sweet Chemistry
After beinga fan-favorite cast member onSaturday Night Livesince her debut in 2019,Summer of 69gives ChloeFineman her first leading role in a film, and she does an impressive job bringing the character of Santa Monica to life. It feels very reminiscent ofAnna Faris' role inThe House Bunny, but still its own thing. Fineman has the physicality down for her scenes where she’s dancing at the pole, but she is also the exact kind of character that we need more of in comedies. So often, comedies will relegate strippers to just the dumb blonde, sex-crazy, a total airhead, or all of the above.Summer of 69never stigmatizes Santa Monica.She’s passionate about what she does, but that’s not her entire personality.
Fineman also gets to share some lovely chemistry with her young co-star Sam Morelos,who makes for a delightful heroine. Morelos matches Fineman’s comedic timing with ease and confidence. Most ofSummer of 69doesn’t rely on her long-awaited romance with Max, but instead, it’s more of a platonic romantic comedy between her and Santa Monica. We see Abby go to great lengths to get what she wants, but it still feels like something a regular horny high schooler would do. This isn’t some movie where we see her character get a total makeover or become the queen of the bedroom, instead, it’s about embracing who she is and becoming more secure.
Summer of 69is one of the best movies that American High has put out and is the first teen movie in a while thatsuccessfully harkens back to the high school-set movies of yesteryear.It has more modern sensibilities than something likeAmerican Pie, but Bell finds a way to find laughs all the way through. We need more movies like this one becauseSummer of 69is the kind of movie that teens need now more than ever.
Summer of 69premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival, and will be released on Hulu later this year.
Summer of 69
Jillian Bell’s hilarious directorial debut Summer of 69 proudly wears its heart on its sleeve.
Summer of 69 centers on Abby, who attempts to win over her crush by mastering a particular intimate skill with guidance from a stripper.
