10 Best Summer Vacation Movies to Watch at Home

With the heat just around the corner, it’s time to reach for those lighter summer films to enjoy with family and friends. Here’s a list of the 10 movies you should check out for those relaxing summer nights.

1. National Lampoon’s Vacation

Road trips are a summer theme — and in 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation, the Griswold family makes their way from Illinois to the California amusement park Walley World. However, mishaps follow Clark (Chevy Chase), Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) and their two children along the way, especially after Clark meets a stunning woman in a sports car. Things begin to unravel when the Griswolds’ car experiences issues and someone in the family passes away. Find out where to stream it here.

2. Summer Rental

This laugh-a-minute flick follows Jack Chester (John Candy), a burnt-out air traffic controller who takes his family on a month-long beach vacation that turns out to be anything but relaxing. For starters, they discover that their “luxurious beach home” is actually a run-down lodging — and things rapidly go downhill from there. Find out where to stream it here.

3. Captain Ron

In this 1982 comedy, Martin Harvey (Martin Short) and his wife, daughter and son travel to a Caribbean island after Harvey learns that he inherited a yacht — though the vessel is in by no means shipshape condition. With plans to take the vessel back to Miami, they have to hire someone to sail the boat, which is where Captain Ron (Kurt Russell) comes in … and his playful ways prove to be endless trouble for the Harveys. Find out where to stream it here.

4. A Goofy Movie

If you’re looking for heart-warming nostalgia during your summer vacation, then A Goofy Movie will fill the bill. This 1995 Disney animated film stars the beloved pup Goofy, who plans on taking his son Max on a trip after some trouble at school. Though Max is endlessly embarrassed by his father and doesn’t want to go on the cross-country fishing trip, he eventually caves and the two embark on a trek that brings them closer together. Find out where to stream it here.

5. Dirty Dancing

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” That’s the Patrick Swayze line that most people associate with this 1987 romantic drama, but there’s a lot more to this sweet movie as we watch Swayze’s character, Johnny, fall in love with Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman’ (Jennifer Grey) one summer at a Catskill resort. They meet when Johnny — the resort’s dance instructor — recruits Baby as his new dance partner, and he teaches her how to be a professional hoofer. Find out where to stream it here.

5. RV

In an effort to keep his family together, the seriously dysfunctional Bob Munro (Robin Williams) takes his wife and two kids on a road trip to the Colorado Rockies in a motor home, in hopes that they will bond rather than grow apart. However, the cross-country jaunt takes unexpected twists and turns, with the entire family cramped in the same small space for two weeks. Find out where to stream it here.

7. Blue Crush

Surfing is the life for Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) in this 2002 film, and the same goes for her two friends and younger sister — with whom Anne Marie shares a beach shack. Each day, the girls wake up early so they can catch some morning waves to train for a surf competition … that is, until Anne Marie gets distracted when she falls for a new guy in town, a pro football player on vacation. He soon wins her heart, and she has to find a balance between surfing and love. Find out where to stream it here.

8. Dazed and Confused

Set in 1976, this coming-of-age comedy film is rife with high school stereotypes — the geeks, the stoners and the jocks. But what all those groups have in common is that it’s the last day of school and summer vacation has arrived. That means incessant shenanigans, including house parties and summer flings, with star athlete Randall ‘Pink’ Floyd (Jason London) just trying to figure it out. Find out where to stream it here.

9. Mamma Mia!

This star-studded 2008 musical, based on the music of ABBA, features Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth, to name just a few. It follows Sophie (Seyfried) and Donna Sheridan (Streep), as they plan the perfect wedding for Sophie on a Greek island. It’s a dream of Sophie’s to be married off by her father at her wedding, but Donna was a single mother who never told Sophie who her biological father was. Hilarity ensues when she invites a few of her mother’s exes to see if anyone fits the bill. Find out where to stream it here.

10. Girls Trip

This 2017 release just may be the ultimate BFF film. It stars Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Tiffany Haddish as four best friends who have started to grow apart. Then everyone is invited to New Orleans for a girl’s trip — and as they eat, drink, and dance through the city, they remember why they bonded in the first place. Find out where to stream it here.

Want to hear these films at their best? Try listening to them with a sound bar like the easy-to-use Yamaha YAS-109, which has built-in-subwoofers for deep bass, Clear Voice technology for enhanced dialogue clarity and DTS Virtual:X 3D surround sound.