Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Graphic sex talk, drugs, drinking in high school comedy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Summer of 69
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Abby (Sam Morelos) is a 17-year-old nerd with a major crush on classmate Max (Matt Cornett) in SUMMER OF 69. She hears through the grapevine that he likes a certain kind of sexual act (see the film's title), so she decides she needs to do whatever she can to prepare for that. She decides to hire a local exotic dancer, Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman), to show her the ropes. In exchange, she promises Santa Monica $20,000. With that money, Santa Monica can save the strip club and take over as owner. Only trouble is, Abby doesn't actually have that much.
Is It Any Good?
While this film comes to a heartwarming closure and its two female leads have good chemistry, the comedy doesn't have enough humor to balance out its in-your-face crassness. Summer of 69 tries to callback to '80s teen comedies like Risky Business and Sixteen Candles. But what it misses is that those films, especially the latter, maintained a level of chuckle-worthy innocence that made the sexual content feel exploratory rather than vulgar. The best scenes by far in this film are the ones where the main characters interact with people their own age. Unfortunately, those scenes are few and far between.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the sexual content in Summer of 69. Does it feel like it goes overboard for a high school film, in your opinion? How much is too much?
What does Santa Monica learn by going to her high school reunion? How does the film use the two main characters to show how they're dealing with similar problems at different life phases?
The film makes reference to the 1983 movie Risky Business. If you've seen that earlier film, what are the parallels? What does this film have in common with other high school movies you've watched?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : May 9, 2025
- Cast : Sam Morelos , Chloe Fineman , Matt Cornett
- Director : Jillian Bell
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Asian Movie Actor(s) , Filipino Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Hulu
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Friendship , School ( High School )
- Run time : 101 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate