Drinking, nudity among common themes for popular vacation films
It’s almost that time of year: the weeklong escapade into pre-adulthood that lets college students set aside their worries and make terrible life decisions that may come back to bite them. Yes, I am referring to spring break. Students will soon be spending their money (or their parents’) to let their wild side out at some of their ideal vacation spots like Cancun, South Padre and Fort Lauderdale. With “Spring Breakers” coming to theaters presently, let’s stop and take a look at a few movies that feature some of our dream spring break getaways.
Spring Breakers
“Spring Breakers” will no doubt become one of he more memorable movies about this college holiday, and it clearly has some valuable tips for spring breakers to take. For instance, if you’re an easily corruptible good girl (Selena Gomez), you should probably reconsider your plans with the three bad girls (Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine) with whom you keep company. Plus, you probably shouldn’t rob a restaurant to raise money for a spring break trip to Florida. And don’t get involved with a gangster (James Franco) who bails you out of jail on drug charges, no matter how tight his cornrow braids are.
EuroTrip
“EuroTrip” may not be a film about spring break, but it is about an around-the-world adventure. This film, however, will get you in the mood if you’re traveling abroad to enjoy Rome or partake in the goodies of Amsterdam. Four friends venture off to Europe after graduation and have a crazy time as they travel from London to Paris to the Vatican City. Known mostly for its original song “Scotty Doesn’t Know” (sung by a heavily pierced Matt Damon) the movie also features one of the most lopsided European nude beaches in film history.
Spring Breakdown
This is one of those films that ended up being not entirely what you’d expect. A low-brow spring break film, “Spring Breakdown” features “Saturday Night Live” cast members Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch and Seth Meyers in a plot about a senator (Jane Lynch) sending a chaperone (Parker Posey) to spy on her daughter (Amber Tamblyn) during a spring break trip. Predictably, shenanigans ensue.
Piranha 3D
Unlike most movies that feature spring break as a joyous rite into adulthood, this horror movie was filmed as if to scare college students from getting too wild over spring break. Less famous for its piranhas than for being utterly filled with wall-to-wall booze and breasts, “Piranha 3D” set the bar high as far as dumb party entertainment goes. I mean, you can’t go any higher than an over-the-top, spring break film with topless paragliding and naked, underwater make-out sessions. The movie also goes to the extreme with the “terrible life choices never come without consequences” lessons since these monstrous piranhas devour half of the dirty spring breakers, but who wouldn’t want to watch that?
From Justin to Kelly
Remember this absolute bomb of a teen spring break film? No? Well, it basically showed that winning “American Idol” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. First-season winner Kelly Clarkson and the forgettable, puffy-haired contestant Justin Guarini meet at spring break and … it doesn’t matter because the movie’s awful. The only people who’d enjoy this film are “American Idol” fans who want to watch Clarkson sing and dance in terrible outfits. If not, then maybe people can find enjoyment in watching Guarini desperately cling on to his last minutes of fame.
Spring Break
Yep, there’s actually a movie named after the college student’s favorite holiday. The 1983 film is about a group of guys who head to Fort Lauderdale, the spring break capital of the world. We’re talking Fort Lauderdale spring breaking at its finest, complete with plenty of hooch and wet T-shirt contests. It even features the sworn enemy of every spring breaker — the meanie grown-ups who want to shut the party down. Just be thankful they didn’t show up at your place.