Some movies are “Beach Movies” like Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Beach and some movies just have beach scenes, like my favorite chick flick of the 2010’s, The Other Woman. Any time waves and water appear onscreen, I am captivated. I want to be transported to the shore and feel the sand in between my toes. Since I am landlocked at the moment, I am content to dream and sit on my couch (or a Tommy Bahama chair on a blanket in front of the TV) with these flicks.
1. Weekend at Bernie's
Full disclosure: this blog was named after a quote in this movie! Hard to believe, I know. When the guys call the police in the Hamptons, they reach an operator who is clearly livin’ on “Island Time.” When asked how to get in touch with the police, she replies, “Oh Ed? He’s out on the beach somewhere.”
The afterlife is sweet for old Bernie. He throws the best parties, goes boating, gets buried in the sand, and gets to hang around with two shmucks.
2. The Beach
Since this was Leo’s comeback after taking a Titanic break, everyone was drawn to this film. It didn’t hurt that the scenery was breathtaking. I think everyone has a fantasy to go off the grid and live simply among such awesome beauty. This was a great book too. I can’t remember if I read the book or saw the film first, but both were amazing.
3. Point Break
The first time I saw this was on a rainy day in Ocean City with about a million cousins. This was back when you rented VHS tapes and you had to get a guest account at the video store since you were on vacation. Johnny Utah tries to put an stop to the endless summer Bodhi is riding out. But Bodhi goes too far in his search for the ultimate ride. Throw in a girl named Tyler who changes out of her wet suit next to her convertible, and you’ve got yourself one hot surf movie.
4. Beaches
This is a film where life truly begins and ends at the beach (on separate coasts). One might say your life starts when you meet your best friend, and for these two chickies, it happened to start in Atlantic City , NJ. And off they went writing letters for the next 10 years getting to know each other. Remember when you asked a question in a letter and had to wait weeks for a response? I will always be fond of letter writing. I had many pen pals and I even remember putting sand in an envelope and sending it off with my latest letter while I was on vacation. When these ladies take their last beach trip together, they have that “messy hair don’t care” attitude you can sometimes only have with your best friend.
5. My Father, the Hero
I feel like not a lot of people have seen this. I have chosen not to post the image of a 14-year-old Katherine Heigl in a white one-piece with a thong back, but give it a search. I used to watch this over and over on VHS. This guy, Dalton James, is so cute, and he didn’t do much else besides a brief stint on 90210 in the middle years.
On a Bahamas vacation, this young girl is fed up with her goofy father coming in and out of her life. She feels that he should make it up to her by pretending to be her boyfriend to land a guy. So it’s a 14-year-old with a 40-year-old bumbling French boyfriend. Somehow, she catches the attention of the hottie working at the resort. Mistaken identity is always hilarious, so this is a winner for me.
Honorable Mentions
