What the hell is a Fourth of July movie? Lots of movies feature the holiday or might have a plot that centers around it in some way, but that doesn’t mean they’re the right thing to watch on a day that’s supposed to be about celebrating and having fun. For a lot of you, the day is about fishing if the weather’s right. For most of us, it’s about cooking meat outdoors, blowing some colorful stuff up, and hanging out with family and friends in the land of the free.
So, while the kneejerk reaction might be to choose an ultra-patriotic flick to wind down the night like Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, or a favorite chapter of Band of Brothers, that might be a bit too heavy. You don’t want Uncle Harold to end up crying over his eighth Miller Lite of the evening; you want him laughing or maybe cheering a little before he starts snoring in the recliner.
So here’s a list of movies that don’t get TOO heavy while blending some patriotism, some summer, and some fun, with some handy 1-to-10 ratings to help you decide what to watch after the barbecue fires die down this 4th of July, in no particular order.
Independence Day (1996)
Director: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum
’Murica Level: 10
Fun Level: 9
This one might seem kind of obvious, but not really — it’s not like it has anything to do with the 4th of July, and the titular phrase is only mentioned once in a speech — but that goddamn speech before the final assault and the fact that the U.S. figures out how to take out invading alien menace just rustles your red, white, and blue jimmies every time.
Plus, it’s a fun action movie with a brisk pace, and it’s one of the few flicks from the era with special effects that still hold up (they were mindblowing when the movie came out).
National Treasure (2004)
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean
’Murica Level: 10
Fun Level: 8
This movie has everything: Hardy Boys-type clues left behind by the founding fathers, heist stuff, treasure hunters, Harvey Keitel, early American history spoon-fed in easily digestible morsels, and Nic Cage one-liners. Kidding aside, there are some chest-swelling moments during monologues about the founding of our nation in this one, and it’s pretty safe for the kids to fall asleep to after six hours in the pool and a belly full of hot dogs.
Jaws (1975)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
’Murica Level: 7
Fun Level: 8
The Fourth is about our nation’s independence, but it’s also about summer. And for a lot of people, this tale of predatory death lurking just off the shores of Martha’s Vinyard, the shore town that stands in for Amity Island, is a summer staple.
After all, the plot centers on whether or not Amity will be able to have the beaches open for the big tourist holiday — the 4th of July — that all the local businesses depend on to cover their annual nut — and we all know how situations like that go. Then it turns into a movie about three dudes heading out to kill a giant goddamn shark. It’s perfect. And Quint’s famous U.S.S. Indianapolis speech just adds a little extra dash of patriotism. Plus, if you have young children, now’s as good a time as any to traumatize them with the first-ever summer blockbuster and make them afraid of the ocean for years to come!
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Forrest Gump (1994)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise
’Murica Level: 9
Fun Level: 6
A lot of people don’t like this movie — to them, I say, “You have no fucking whimsy in your souls!” Is this an utterly improbably, hugely simplified rundown of major historical events from the post-war Baby Boomer era? Yeah, yeah, it is. That’s how a movie about childhood disabilities, sexual abuse, the Vietnam War, discrimination, wounded veterans, drug use, and sexual favors traded for good schoolin’ that ends on such a downer can still manage to be funny and fun enough that a lot of families watch it over and over.
Plus, I mean, Lt. Dan. ‘Nuff said.
Top Gun (1986) and/or Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Director: Tony Scott / Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer / Tom Cruise, Miles Teller
’Murica Level: 10
Fun Level: 9
Top Gun is Top Gun, plain and simple. It was a BIG movie made about the military might of America in the mid-80s, the way only Tony Scott could make movies. It’s about egos writing checks that asses can’t cash and pushing the envelope, and buzzing the tower.
Yeah, Goose dies (if you aren’t aware of the big climax of this nearly 40-year-old classic, then that’s on you), but somehow, it’s not the super downer it should be for the audience — I guess it’s hard to be sad with all the K-Log tunes in the soundtrack. You know you want to head into the danger zone again.
’Murica Level: 10
Fun Level: 8
If you’re not feeling super nostalgic or if you’ve seen the original too many times, the wildly popular sequel from 2022 is available everywhere that streams movies. It loses a fun point compared to the original because Maverick has to deal with being old af and Iceman being at death’s door is a downer, plus this movie is building toward a serious life-or-death mission against a relatively nameless and faceless enemy instead of building toward a class completing a prestigious flight school.
But the epic flying scenes and the ridiculous pile of improbable victories at the end will have you compulsively waving your biggest American flag on your front lawn covered in burning sparklers at 2 a.m. I mean, the F14 scene…so cool.
Stand By Me (1986)
Director: Rob Reiner
Starring: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Kiefer Sutherland
’Murica Level: 7
Fun Level: 7
What? A story about a group of young teens taking a long-ass hike to see a dead body out of morbid curiosity doesn’t seem like a fun time? Well, it is. This Stephen King-penned tale of friendship, adventure for adventure’s sake, camping out, and getting leeches on your dick in semi-rural America is pure summer. It’s got that 1950s nostalgia for the oldsters, and there’s something about every character that most people can relate to.
And that scene where Lachance stands up to Ace with his dad’s 1911 will always be awesome. It’s also about a bunch of misfit kids trying to find their own kind of freedom from less-than-ideal lives at home and finding a second family in their friends.
The Patriot (2000)
Director: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Jason Isaacs
’Murica Level: 11
Fun Level: 7
Let’s call this movie what it is; it’s an action movie about the American Revolution. And believe me, I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing. Quite the contrary.
Yeah, you could sit through all 8 1/2 hours of the John Adams miniseries to get a sense of what our nation’s rebellion against the crown was like — or you can watch Mel Gibson waste Redcoats with a tomahawk and flintlocks for 2 1/2 hours. Easy choice. Again, is this a simplified version of complex and nuanced historical events featuring mostly fictional characters? Yes. And that’s why it’s enjoyable.
Major Payne (1995)
Director: Nick Castle
Starring: Damon Wayons, Karyn Parsons, Michael Ironsides
’Murica Level: 10
Fun Level: 10
This movie is just fuckin’ hilarious. It’s funny if you grew up with it, it’s funny if you’re a vet, and it’s funny because it has Damon Wayons at his brief peak in the mid-’90s. Maj. Benson Winifred Payne is a hardcore Marine who has been fighting the international war on drugs (because that’s all Hollywood knew was going on at the time) when he’s honorably discharged, arrested because he can’t hack civilian life, brought back into the military and put in charge of some JROTC students. We all can relate.
It’s kind of a blend of Kindergarten Cop and Stripes, and it’s perfect for winding down after the fireworks have all been successfully detonated without the roof catching fire.
Your Favorite Baseball Movie – Which is Either The Natural, The Sandlot, Field of Dreams, or A League of Their Own…okay, or Major League
’Murica Level: 9
Fun Level: 9
There are few things more beautifully American than the sport of baseball, and there is no other sport that translates as well to the screen. That means there are a lot of baseball movies. There are a few stinkers, but even they have their charms.
So whether you want to wallow in the nostalgia of youthful pick-up games with The Sandlot, watch baseball portrayed as art deco poetry in The Natural, or pretend you’re not crying at the end of Field of Dreams when Kevin Costner has a catch with his dad, a baseball movie is always good for the Fourth.
The editorial staff decided the most fun baseball movie is definitely the original Major League and that the most patriotic is likely A League of Their Own, about the very real All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that existed from 1943 to 1954 started by a bunch of MLB team owners during WWII to keep America’s past time alive while so many able-bodied men were fighting in Europe and the Pacific.
Whichever route you go for your 4th of July movies, we hope your sense of freedom is shining and that. you still have all the fingers you began the day with. Happy Independence Day!
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