Teen sex comedies used to be all the rage. Who can forget Jason Biggs ejaculating into an apple pie in American Pie or Michelle Trachtenberg and Travis Westers’ “twincest” in EuroTrip? The sub-genre has died down over the years, largely because films like Porky’s have aged like milk. Even still, we’ve seen the sub-genre succeed recently, with films like No Hard Feelings and Bottoms, as well as the hit Netflix series Sex Education.
The production company American High has attempted to resurrect the teen sex comedy to more modern standards. Founded by Jeremy Garelick, whose filmography includes films like The Hangover and The Break-Up, the company has produced quite a few movies already, including Big Time Adolescence, Plan B, and The 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, including Natalie Morales and Sammi Cohen. With their latest heartfelt raunchy comedy, Summer of 69, Jillian Bell gets her chance to step behind the camera after starring in comedies such as Brittany Runs a Marathon and Workaholics.
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 that Max has finally broken 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 of Risky 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

While Summer of 69 definitely falls under the umbrella of the teen sex comedy (the title isn’t just a reference to the Bryan Adams song), 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 in 22 Jump Street and The Night Before, and with her first feature she shows that she’s also got a strong knack for making movies too.
While Summer of 69 will be released directly to Hulu later this year, you shouldn’t discount it as just another straight-to-streaming teen comedy. It’s so much more than that. From a gleeful musical number in its opening credits, Bell and co-writers Liz Nico and Jules Byrne deliver a 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. Cinematographer Maria Rusche also 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 made Summer of 69 with 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 69 isn’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

Image via SXSW

After being a fan-favorite cast member on Saturday Night Live since her debut in 2019, Summer of 69 gives Chloe Fineman 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 of Anna Faris’ role in The 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 69 never 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 of Summer of 69 doesn’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 69 is one of the best movies that American High has put out and is the first teen movie in a while that successfully harkens back to the high school-set movies of yesteryear. It has more modern sensibilities than something like American Pie, but Bell finds a way to find laughs all the way through. We need more movies like this one because Summer of 69 is the kind of movie that teens need now more than ever.
Summer of 69 premiered 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.

Producers

Jeremy Garelick, Molle DeBartolo

Pros & Cons

Chloe Fineman and Sam Morelos share sweet chemistry with one another.
The movie has positive messages that feel uplifting rather than degrading.
Bell’s direction shows so much passion and care for the characters.

The story is pretty formulaic and predictable.