Hulu Has The Best Summer Comedy To Stream This July
Eldest daughters like me have always been suckers for the female mentor comedy. With no older sisters of our own, we looked to the likes of Tyra Banks in Life-Size, Brittany Murphy in Uptown Girls, and Anna Faris in House Bunny to fill that need for an older, wiser, woman with more sex appeal than we had in our pinky fingers to come and teach us the ways of the world. Chloe Fineman steps effortlessly into the role with Hulu’s newest film Summer of 69.
She shines as stripper Santa Monica, a woman dreading her high school reunion and desperate to pull together enough cash to save her club, Diamond Dolls, from being taken over by sleazy rival Rick Richards (Charlie Day). Enter awkward teen and “Glitch” streamer, Abby Flores (Sam Morelos), who seeks to pay Santa Monica to be the equivalent of an MTV MADE coach and teach her how to “69” her newly single childhood crush, Max, in the final days of their senior year of high school.
We’ve seen a million sexual awakening comedies. Seen many a well-known celeb master the art of pole dancing for an artistic endeavor (FKA Twigs and J. Lo, I’m lookin’ at you). So what makes Fineman’s take on the combo instantly iconic? While her opening dance number, costume design, and performance do a great job of building out the character of Santa Monica, we’re also conscious as an audience of the fact that we’re watching a professional comedian do what she does best.
Joke timing and delivery is flawless, and when juxtaposed with Morelos’ incredibly believable innocence and naiveté, it feels like the most unfair but hilarious roast of all time. When Abby is running late and forgets to brush her teeth, Santa Monica asks, “Did you eat a poo for dinner?”, and it’s exactly what you’d imagine hanging out with an SNL cast member to be like.
When the “tutoring” begins, Santa Monica asks Abby if she’s ever watched porn, to which she dumbfoundedly responds, “Ography?” It’s the perfect encapsulation of the age where you know nothing about sex, but where it’s also the one thing all of your peers can’t stop talking about. Teenage rumors and wives tales play perfectly here to create lighthearted moments, like Abby telling Santa Monica if you touch your eyelid, it’s what a penis feels like.
Perfect for girl’s night, family night with grown kids and parents who don’t get awkward about sex, or laughs you’ll want to relive alone again and again, Fineman and Morelos have an instant hit on their hands that I’m sure will lead to more full-length headliner roles for both in the immediate future.