Summer of 69 pretends to be a super raunchy sex comedy… but it evolves into a gentler, if a little daft, heart-felt buddy comedy. It’s almost like the title is designed to be misleading (also of note: it doesn’t take place over the Summer nor does it cram in that Bryan Adams song).

The film stars lonely and awkward Sam Morelos who is desperately in teen love with a boy. The high school’s mascot tells her that his favorite thing is 69 so she vows that she’ll 69 him… sexually. To do so, she hires a local stripper (Chloe Fineman) to teach her everything about sex.

This premise is a little goofy and unlikely, tbh. And that includes its bizarre and unconvincing ending routine (which is, at least, awkward funny but I don’t see how they pull it off). So I spent most of the movie thinking it was kind of nonsense while enjoying it anyway. It helps that it has the stink of a female Risky Business… and they go ahead and acknowledge it.

The two leads – Morales and Fineman – grow a sweet and huggable rapport. It’s a platonic rom-com, basically. Which includes the usual big reveal that risks everything… which I usually roll my eyes at. But it’s in-character, in-plot, and it has a nice sentiment on resolution so I was ok with it.

And, yeah, I laughed a lot. Maybe I was in a good dopey mood or maybe the writing and delivery were just good enough to tickle my cynicism. I laughed… not uproariously… but often. And it helps all the comedy isn’t just leaning on its raunchy premise.

So, yeah, for having winning charm and laughs, this flick manages its way to a low 3.5. It’s good natured, sweet, and fun. Sam Morelos turns in a winning performance and I’d like to see more from her.

Score: 81