Entertainment

Summer Movies For Your Next Girls' Night Out

by Emily Lackey

The temperature is heating up, the sky is staying dry (well, OK, for the most part), and restaurant patrons everywhere are flocking to patio seating everywhere — in other words, summer is nearly here. In addition to many things that are crucial musts to do summer right — short dresses, cold drinks, and iced coffee, to name a few — undoubtedly the most important is ensuring you have as many nights out with your female friends as you can stand. Sure, girls' nights should be a thing you do year-round, but there is just something special about summer nights spent outside with your best friends and a pitcher of sangria. But, before you stuff yourself full of cheese and drink enough wine to shock Cersei Lannister, start the night off with a perfect summer girls' night out movie that will have you talking (and laughing) for the rest of your night.

After all, summer is the best time for movies, and this summer's lineup is looking like the best we've had in a while. The people that brought you some of your favorite films (Bridesmaids, Jerry Maguire, Magic Mike,to name a few) are coming out swinging this summer with movies that are perfect for a night out with your best friends. They'll make you laugh. They'll make you cry. They may even make you feel things you haven't felt since that time you all went to Las Vegas. So, start your girls' night out with one of this summer's most anticipated movies.

1. Trainwreck

The minute I saw the poster for Trainwreck, I wanted to see it. And hey, who can blame me: It's a movie about a thirty-something powerful woman played by Amy Schumer, and it's directed by Judd Apatow. SIGN ME UP. Even better: The film brilliantly casts a number of other comedy greats, including Bill Hader, Vanessa Bayer, and John Krasinski. Considering it's also written by Amy Schumer, I don't know what you are all doing reading this from the comfort of your own home and/or office. Like, I'm writing this from the theater as I wait in line to be the first to get my tickets.

2. Magic Mike XXL

It's been eight years since the last time I was in Las Vegas, but sometimes I still think about that one night that my friends and I drank margaritas the size of our faces and then went to see chippendales. I don't want to oversell it or anything, but... that really was the best night ever in the whole world, and every night out with friends for the past eight years seems like an attempt to recreate that fever dream of an evening. That is why, the next time I go out with friends, I will be seeing Magic Mike XXL. Because a.) Channing Tatum, and b.) Nothing gets my girls riled up more than half-naked men and penis puns.

3. Aloha

Aloha looks to me like a mix between Jerry Maguire and The Notebook, which, if it is, would be the greatest mashup of cinematic classics ever. From the director of Jerry Maguire, it stars Rachel McAdams, Emma Stone, Bradley Cooper, John Krasinski, and the great Bill Murray. Just be sure to plan for drinks after this one, because I think everyone is going to need to decompress after two hours of love triangles and personal epiphanies.

4. Ricki And The Flash

The newest film by Diablo Cody, who is AMAZING, promises to be another scorcher. The film, about a musician who goes home to care for her two adult children whose lives are falling apart, stars Meryl Streep. Be prepared for the conversation after this one, too. I can only imagine the mama drama that will inevitably come to light after seeing this one with the women you trust the most.

5. Me And Earl And The Dying Girl

Kind of the anti-Fault in Our Stars, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is about a teenage boy who befriends a girl with cancer. Except, in this version, there isn't anything saccharine to purposely render you weeping and incapable of speech by the end — although that might happen, the film promises a more realistic depiction of teenagers, cancer, and growing up. One that will hopefully leave you feeling enlivened, not utterly devastated.

6. Jem And The Holograms

You guys: Molly Ringwald is back, and she's not the only icon this movie boasts: Jem, the cartoon rocker who had every girl born before 1985 wearing wigs and painting her face pink, is finally getting a big screen adaptation. The film version of this iconic classic revolves around the idea of living an exceptional life while being true to yourself, a topic that your friends will toast to and talk about long into your next girls' night.

Enjoy it, ladies. The next round is on me!

Images: Giphy (4); Universal Pictures