Best Fourth of July movies

Sure there’s Independence Day and Born on the Fourth of July, but there are plenty of other movies out there perfectly tailored for this weekend’s holiday—it just depends on your mood. Here are 10 all-American ideas for watching a flick on the Fourth.

Recommended if you don’t mind a lump in your throat throughout the entire holiday, director Paul Greengrass’ documentary-style account of the heroic passengers of the hijacked flight that crash landed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on 9/11 is a powerful reminder of the human spirit, and commendable stroke of understated cinema.

Set during the last night of summer before a group of friends go off to college, this 1962 ensemble dramedy was George Lucas’ final project before launching Star Wars, and it is an absolute love-letter to the country’s first blush from rock ‘n’ roll—the wall-to-wall soundtrack hollering from beat-up car stereos and high school gymnasiums is an absolute masterwork—and the great lost “cruisin'” culture of his youth. Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard and a drawling Harrison Ford all hit their stride with this film.

I could go on about the patriotism in nearly every frame of this 1977 action flick, but the reason to watch this movie this weekend is because of one thing, or well, two: Harrison Ford v. Gary Oldman. Everyone together: “GET OFF MY PLANE!”

I love America, too. But loving something so much just makes it that much more ripe for satire. And leave it to the creators of South Park to eviscerate post-9/11 flag-waving and our response to terrorism with this 2004 black comedy, and to use puppets while doing it.

Try watching this and not going on a road trip the next day. Cameron Crowe created a new lyrical language with this film, one filled with sunsets, feedback and flattop as his young proxy William, a budding journalist, goes on tour with an emerging (and imploding) rock band. And it’s a scientific fact that Led Zeppelin’s “That’s the Way” and Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” sound exactly how the 4th of July feels.

The genius of this bittersweet comedy is that we all knew a camp counselor or coach in our youth that should never have been handed responsibility for one child, much less dozens of them, but Bill Murray’s pre-Ghostbustersperformance here as Tripper Harrison is one for the record books. Watch this on the Fourth. That’ll really stick it to Camp Mohawk.

This 2001 satire of comedies like Meatballs is a riotous blend of slapstick, social commentary and heady wordplay from the minds that created MTVs short-lived sketch comedy show The State in the 1990s. The cast is oddball, but somehow perfect, and studded with talent, from leads Michael Showalter and Paul Rudd to supporting roles from Amy Poehler, David Hyde Pearce, Christopher Meloni and some guy named Bradley Cooper.

The story of the ill-fated 1970 moon landing, Apollo 13 is intensely patriotic without being annoyingly so. It is director Ron Howard’s finest hour in film, a showcase for Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon as astronauts on the edge, and a fascinating study in team problem-solving under pressure. As ground control chief Gene Krantz, Ed Harris is remarkable, the epitome of inspirational crisis leadership.

“You’re killing me, Smalls!” Who hasn’t felt like the new kid, the outcast who can’t do anything right? From Ham to Yeah-Yeah to Squints and even The Beast, this 1993 coming-of-age baseball flick created more memorable characters than it had any right to. The Sandlot is cheesy, predictable, overly nostalgic and absolutely perfect in every way.

Don’t watch this if you’re at the beach, but if you’re stuck in Baton Rouge this holiday, cozying up with Hollywood’s first “blockbuster” that virtually established the summer movie template is perfect. Set during July 4th weekend on a fictional East Coast island of Amity, sure the waterborne thrills are some of the best ever, but Jaws boasts plenty of quieter moments of character-building and family that have also helped make it such an enduring summer classic.