I remember a time when I made plans for the summer, back when I had a chunk of three months with no school and, I thought, no responsibilities. For some reason, it never really clicked in my head that the lack of school didn’t translate to not needing to do the things around the house I normally did when it wasn’t summer. Still, there were some master plans that were created, and then came crumbling down when reality pushed back. In this third and penultimate summer-themed piece, we travel back in time to the 1980s and 90s where the main characters had their own ideas for what summer would hold:

MOVIE: “Dirty Dancing” (1987, PG-13, 100 min, watch it: DVD, Roku)

Despite being made in the late 80s, the storyline here actually ties back to the decades in Part 2 of this series as a period piece, taking place during the summer of 1963. There is heat aplenty, both in the atmosphere of the Catskills resort and in the relationship between Baby and Johnny. This is also a great example of a completely unexpected summer as Baby thinks she knows the world, but finds a whole different side of life from what she’s experienced so far.

Even if you’ve managed to never see this movie before, you’d be able to guess the main plot points within the first twenty minutes, but for some reason, that doesn’t diminish the fun of the movie at all. Lots of seemingly tangential events take place, characters evolve in unexpected ways and the ending, while cheesy and predictable, is also heartfelt and exactly what the movie needed. Where this movie excels and others fall behind is that the movie never pretends to be anything more than it is and never forgets what it’s supposed to be. This is a love story, plain and simple.

Between the stellar soundtrack and engaging storyline, this movie is a great watch. For anyone who has avoided this movie in the past because it focuses on dancing, dancing is actually a bit of a façade. In this case, it’s hiding something even better inside. In my view, dancing is the tool that brings Baby and Johnny together in this romance and leads to the bigger story, not the reason the movie is made.

MOVIE: “Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead” (1991, PG-13, 102 min, watch it: DVD, Cinemax)

Sue Ellen, nicknamed Swell, thinks her summer will be just that, swell. Her mom, who is single and a mother of five, is heading off to Australia for two months with her boyfriend which will leave Swell the chance to have the relaxing summer of her dreams. The catch? Her mom hired a babysitter. When the babysitter dies, Swell and her siblings decide not to tell anyone and they can still have the summer they were all hoping for. The further catch? They have no money and one of them needs to find a job.

While the premise seems bizarre, the story is actually quite endearing. Sue Ellen thinks she’ll have an easy time getting a dream job, but reality finds her 17-year-old age and lack of work experience a bit light, and she ends up working at a clown-themed fast-food place (which, to me, puts the movie dangerously close to horror territory). Quickly quitting that job, she fabricates a resume and finds herself at a posh fashion job and way out of her league. The work piles up, she dips into petty cash to get her family quick money, and life threatens to drown her.

Perhaps too much realism in the sentiment to be comedic? Worry not, the movie has lots of laughs between Sue Ellen’s reactions to her new environment, the juggling she has to do with her boyfriend so he doesn’t ruin her job (where her hiring hijacked a promotion from someone who turns out to be her boyfriend’s sister), the antics of her siblings and the ending that everything is leading up to. Since work is the antithesis of summer fun, there are also some predictable jokes thrown in, but knowing they’re coming doesn’t diminish the laughter they sow.

So, are either of these What2Watch tonight? Perhaps you had some summer plans that went awry on you and you find yourself available to watch a movie after all. Personally, I enjoy these movies quite a bit and have seen them both multiple times. If you’ve never seen these movies before, this is the time to try them out. On the other hand, if you’ve seen the movies before, this is the time to watch them again.

Kent Kraft is someone who was surprised to learn there is apparently a 2024 remake of “Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead,” not because remakes are a surprise, but because the choice of this movie in particular certainly is! He’ll also mention there is a sequel/prequel to “Dirty Dancing” called “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” which takes place in 1958 and has Patrick Swayze as a dance class instructor. Since it takes place in 1958, five years before the original movie, and was filmed in 2004, seventeen years after the original movie, it makes no sense for Swayze’s character to be the same person (barring Kent’s suggestion of time travel, of course). He enjoyed “Havana Nights” and would recommend it too (it just didn’t fit the summer theme)!