Transitioning from one season to the next can be a difficult move or a welcomed change of pace. The weeks leading up to the start of autumn as the nights get cooler and the days get shorter is a particularly divisive seasonal change for some. Many mourn the loss of feeling the warmth of the sun on their face, while others jump for joy at the thought of no more sweating outside. Either way, the summer-to-fall transition is easily the seasonal change that matters the most to people.
Once those heat lovers get over the days spent lounging by the pool, they can get excited for cozy days spent drinking apple cider and watching the leaves turn colors. Transitioning from summer to fall is probably one of the few instances where many people are collectively excited about the same thing. Yes, summer is over, but the holiday season is around the corner and there is plenty to look forward to.
Between the annual reemergence of seasonal coffees and stores lined with decorations, fall is the beginning of the best time of year. We get to spend two months filling our time with festive fall activities and spooky season events after a season spent at lakes and beaches. Feeling the world go from bright and sunny to warm and colorful is an experience we don't get with the other seasons, and it's the only time we transition from one enjoyable season to the next.
We have a plethora of movies that superbly depict this transitional time, which allows us to appreciate the positives of both seasons. Whether they celebrate the last days of summer freedom or highlight the welcoming days of early fall, movies help us appreciate our favorite seasons and prepare for the next. So, here are ten movies to check out as we transition from summer to fall:
10 American Graffiti (1973)
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Featuring a very young Ron Howard and a brief appearance from a pre-Star Wars Harrison Ford, American Graffiti is an ode to those summer nights spent driving around with friends. The film is set in California's Central Valley during the end of summer in 1962, where a group of recently graduated friends spends their last night of freedom cruising the strip before heading off to college. They spend the entirety of the movie soaking up the last breeze of summer and enjoying their last moments of blissful youth by driving through town without any real destination in mind. It's a nostalgic feeling that the film provokes. It reminds you of warm nights turning into cool nights and the curiosity that a post-high school future holds.
9 Call Me by Your Name (2017)
Luca Guadgagnino's Call Me by Your Name is set in the idyllic Italian countryside during the summer of 1983. It follows a boy named Elio (Timothee Chalamet) as he explores life, friendship, and first love. He spends the summer months at his family's Northern Italian villa where he occasionally assists his father with his research of Greco-Roman culture, also where he meets the young man hired as an intern to assist his father.
CMBYN spans the tumultuous and rather troublesome relationship that builds between Elio and the intern over the course of the season. As warm summer nights start to dissipate into cool autumn evenings, Elio learns some harsh lessons about love and relationships. It's both a heartbreaking and moving film and ideal to watch as you reminisce about the last days of summer vacation.
8 Grease (1978)
One of the biggest songs in Grease starts right at the beginning of the movie, and it sets up the whirlwind romance that occurred between Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) and Danny (John Travolta) during summer break. The movie's biggest song may be about summer nights, but the rest of the movie takes place over the course of their entire senior year of high school.
The events of the movie musical don't really kick off until Sandy and Danny finally reunite at one of Rydell's first football games of the year and Danny brushes her off to look cool in front of the T-Birds. Grease is a perfect movie choice to watch during this seasonal transition because it begins with an epic ode to summer and the possibilities it brings before moving you right along to fall and the very different opportunities it brings. Plus, the soundtrack is iconic.
7 Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
Attending camp of some form is a rather universal summer experience for many kids in the United States. Whether you attended day camp and came home in the evenings, spent a week at camp with Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts, or went to sleep-away camp for a month, many of us have camp memories. A movie that puts those memories front and center is Wet Hot American Summer, a raunchy rom-com about a group of camp counselors during the last day of camp.
Set in 1981 at Camp Firewood, the counselors realize they have unfinished business to attend to before the day is over. Meanwhile, a piece of NASA equipment is hurtling toward Earth, and camp director Beth (Janeane Garofalo) is trying to keep order among the checked-out counselors. Throw in some love triangles, talking vegetable cans, and the big talent show that will solve all their problems, and you have yourself a ridiculously funny send-off to the summer.
6 Good Will Hunting (1997)
With an Academy Award-winning script and powerful performances by its two leads, Good Will Hunting has become loved by many. It follows a brilliant young man working as a janitor at M.I.T. with a gift for mathematics but struggles to find direction in his life until he meets a kind psychologist who helps him move forward. The combination of the inviting autumn scenery of Boston and the warm performance of Robin Williams as Will's (Matt Damon) psychologist Sean makes this an ideal watch as we head into fall.
Nothing compares to the vibrant colors of fall in the Northeast, and the melancholy chats between Will and Sean on their park bench will undoubtedly prepare you to accept the arrival of fall. The cool, crisp weather and the introspective conversations about life are ideal for curling up on the couch with a blanket.
5 Weekend at Bernie's (1989)
As we approach the Labor Day long weekend, pressing play on a classic '80s end-of-summer comedy seems like a great idea. Labor Day weekend in the U.S. is typically referred to as the unofficial end of summer since the weather will start to turn a bit cooler and kids will return to school. Weekend at Bernie's takes place during this exact holiday weekend, and it is an absurd laugh-riot from start to finish.
The comedy follows two dimwitted corporate employees, Larry (Andrew McCarthy) and Richard (Jonathan Silverman), who are invited to their boss' Hamptons mansion for the weekend after alerting him to the fact that someone has been messing with the books. However, upon arriving at the beachside palace, Larry and Richard discover that Bernie (Terry Kiser) is dead. Instead of alerting the authorities, the boys decide to pretend he's still alive and convince the rest of the party guests that he's doing fine. It's an utterly ridiculous plot, but it's one of those so-bad-it's-good comedies that makes it a great choice to celebrate your last weekend of summer.
4 Dead Poets Society (1989)
One of the most touching and inspiring films of the last 40 years, Dead Poets Society offers something that anyone can relate to. Whether it's a love for literature, feeling out of touch, craving companionship, or needing a place to belong, there is something in this film that can resonate with anyone. It's also an excellent movie to watch as summer turns to fall. It takes place at the beginning of the academic year at a boarding school where roommates Todd (Ethan Hawke) and Neil (Robert Sean Leonard) meet the school's new English teacher, Professor Keating (Robin Williams). Keating teaches them and the other students to defy the status quo and introduces the boys to the Dead Poets Society, and each of the boys' lives is changed forever.
The lush New England setting is enough to make even the most summer-obsessed person excited about the pumpkin spice season, but the intimate conversations about youth, life, and hope will leave you inspired to head into the upcoming season with a desire to make the most of the life you lead.
3 Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
The quirky, saturated world of Wes Anderson's filmography is an acquired taste for some, but for many, it is just the right balance of colorful and odd. Many of his films are reminiscent of summer or fall thanks to the vibrant color palettes, but Moonrise Kingdom in particular hits the sweet spot of the summer-to-fall transition. Like other films on this list, this story is also set on New England's gorgeous coast, but this time in the summer of 1965. Two young kids, Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward), fall in love and decide to run away together. Their innocent plan sends their small coastal town into a frenzy as they divide into groups to find the children.
In classic Wes Anderson fashion, the kids behave more like adults and the adults behave more like children, which makes for a uniquely entertaining experience. Given that the film takes place on a small island off the coast, it has a perfect blend of summer's warm breeze and fall's cool nights. At times, it feels like it was made to be watched during the days that the seasons change over. It almost feels like you are watching the seasons evolve as you watch the kids and the townspeople evolve.
2 The Lost Boys (1987)
If fantasy or horror is a bit more your speed, and you are searching for a movie to watch that bridges the gap between summer and fall, then look no further. The Lost Boys is all of that wrapped up into one nostalgia-filled '80s horror comedy. Brothers Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim) move to the coastal California town of Santa Carla toward the end of the summer with their mother Lucy (Dianne Wiest). After just one night spent exploring the boardwalk, both brothers realize the town is surrounded by mysterious deaths and a local biker gang that instills fear in the residents. When Michael starts sleeping days and staying out all night, and Sam starts to get into trouble with his new friends, they realize why Santa Carla is shrouded in death and mystery; vampires live there.
The Lost Boys feels like what would happen if The Goonies met Twilight in the best way possible. It's about a biker gang of vampires and the nerdy teenagers that are left to rid the town of their evil by using their comic book knowledge. It is '80s teen filmmaking at its prime. What could be more suited for the summer-to-fall transition than a movie that takes place in the summer but features some of the best creatures for spooky season?
1 When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Rob Reiner's timeless rom-com When Harry Met Sally spans the lives of its titular characters, played superbly by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, over the course of about 12 years. It actually covers all four seasons since it takes place over more than a decade, but its many depictions of New York's orange fall leaves and summer activities such as baseball games make it ideal to watch as we move between the seasons.
Summer and fall are also the two prominent seasons for beginning new relationships or finding romance, and the journey of Harry and Sally's long-standing love story is an excellent movie choice to prepare for autumn. It is just as hilarious as it is moving, and overall an extremely comforting film for any time of the year.
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