The Fourth Of July is always an exciting holiday here in the United States. It’s summer and people look to get together, have a cook-out, and watch some fun fireworks. If you’re young, then you love having the summer off and can’t wait to eat some hot dogs and play some baseball. If you’re older, then this time of the year brings back memories of frolicking through the summer with few cares. Either way, it’s a great time and you’re ready for it to get here. To pump yourself up for the summer fun let’s watch some of the best Fourth of July movies to get ready for those fireworks.
If there was a movie that felt exactly like summer, then it has to be The Sandlot. They mention that the only night of the year they played a night game was on the Fourth Of July as the night sky would be lit up with all the fireworks, allowing them to see. We get a great shot of Benjamin nailing a ball up into the sky as the other kids get dazed by looking at the fireworks. The film is also just loaded with other great summer memories of baseball, heading down to the community swimming pool, and just having fun with your friends. One of the best Fourth Of July movies.
It’s the movie that made you think twice about going to the beach for the Fourth Of July weekend. If there’s one thing you don’t want to hear while you’re at the beach, it’s the first two notes of the Jaws theme. That will clear out the water real quick. The famous killer shark movie that shows that the evilest mayor in all of film didn’t want to shut down the beach on the Fourth Of July weekend because they would lose too much money. People’s safety be damned! The summer atmosphere does get you in the mood for some relaxation at the beach even if it does make you wary about jumping into any body of water.
Even though Adam Sandler’s movies aren’t as popular as they used to be, he does still find some stories that give you a little nostalgic tug at the heartstrings. For Grown Ups he tells a fun story about coming back to his old hometown and reconnecting with his old friends over the Fourth Of July weekend. It has its fun jokes and even crude segments but at its heart, it’s a great film about reconnecting with the child inside of yourself. It reminds the viewer to take time to slow down and appreciate how far you’ve come. Plus if you’re a big SNL nerd then it’s great to see a lot of old cast members reunite on screen.
This fun slasher starts out with a group of friends on the Fourth Of July. They are all about to go their separate ways once the summer ends, and they want one last holiday weekend together. They get into a deadly accident and make a pact to never tell anyone about it, They all head off to college that fall and when they return home the following summer they start getting notes letting them know that someone knows their secrets. As they begin to get killed off one by one they have to solve what really happened that night and who is after them. Not a lot of the movie has to do with the Fourth Of July but it’s still a fun mystery set during the summer that will give you chills.
The holiday is a lot of fun for some, but there’re some that feel left behind after what they did for their country. This film tells the true story of Ron Kovic who was a Vietnam veteran who was left paralyzed during his active duty. He returns home and begins to question the price that he paid for a country that he feels forgot him. It’s a tragic look at what some veterans had to face once they returned home. Tom Cruise got a lot of acclaim for taking on the role of Ron Kovic. His passionate performance surprised a lot of people that thought he might not have the dramatic chops to pull off such a story.
It’s always fun to spend the Fourth Of July Weekend with new and old friends. Reconnecting with friends is one of the best aspects of the holiday. For Girl’s Trip, we see a group of friends that have drifted apart deciding to reconnect at the Essence Music Festival over Fourth Of July Weekend in New Orleans. The star-studded cast includes Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Tiffany Haddish as the four friends who hope to rekindle their friendship. A series of hilarious mishaps almost turn the weekend into a disaster but the group rallies to keep their friendships together. If you need a good laugh over the holiday weekend then this is for sure the film you want to watch.
What can I say? A film where Nic Cage plays a cryptographer and treasure hunter? Sign me up. Oh, and he also wants to steal the Declaration Of Independence. Gold. Cage plays Benjamin Franklin Gates who believes there’s a huge stockpile of rare metals, artwork, and jewels hidden away. They were collected by The Knights Templar, then the Founding Fathers, and finally hidden away by the Freemasons during the Revolutionary War. He’s obsessed with uncovering it but isn’t the only one looking for it. The clues are buried in America’s past, and we get a fun trip into history. This movie was built for Fourth of July watching.
Of any movie on this list, this one has the least to do with the Fourth Of July. That doesn’t stop it from being a fun romp to get you into the spirit of chowing down on some burgers and hot dogs. Freddie gets a new job at a medical supply store where he learns that the original zombies from Night Of The Living Dead are stored in the basement. When his boss shows him the canisters, one of them accidentally sprays both of them. A series of events leads to the old graveyard next door getting covered in the chemicals that bring the dead back to life. Freddie’s punk friends show up to pick him up but instead end up in a fight for their lives. It’s a fun movie with its tongue planted firmly in its cheek.
A fun comedy with a star-studded cast that will leave you laughing uncontrollably. Jason Sudeikis plays a low-level pot dealer who gets his entire stash and cash stolen from him. Soon a higher-level dealer tells him that in order to pay him back for the money he lost, he has to go down to Mexico and bring back a giant shipment. To disguise himself as a family man on vacation, he recruits his neighbor and two local teenagers to play his new family. They set off to Mexico but as you’d expect hijinks ensue which makes it harder than they thought to get the shipment back by the deadline, July 4th. A great comedy that will have you laughing the whole time.
I mean, it had to be right? It’s in the title of the movie. The ultimate Fourth Of July film even from its inception. Aliens decide to show up a couple of days before the holiday celebration but don’t realize that humanity will not let them take over their planet peacefully. They use all forms of technology at their disposal to bring them down. While not his first film, this is the movie that rocketed Will Smith to superstardom. The on-screen visuals still hold up to this day and I still get chills when Bill Pullman gives his Independence Day speech. A great film to put on to celebrate the Fourth Of July holiday.
What are some of your favorite Fourth Of July Movies? Let us know in the comments below.