Swan ‘song’: postpone the real world with film

Say you’re out at a club or a gala or, you know, alone dancing in your room on a Friday night. After all the lights have gone out and they’re trying to get you to call it a night; there’s always that one last song to play you out.  A few years ago I wrote an article about movies to get you through O-Week. Now, as a suitable companion piece, I thought I’d give you a couple of cinematic suggestions to “play you out” as you wind down your school year.

Many of you have to deal with entering the real world after your last exam and that’s kind of depressing. No more drinking with friends. No more staying up all night playing video games. No more Wilf’s trivia. Luckily, there are a few friends you may heed on this downtrodden journey. If you find yourself longing for better university days, grab a copy of Animal House and join John Belushi, Tim Matheson and the rest of the frat brothers for one of the most hilarious college movies ever created.

Then of course there’s this past year’s almost-cult hit, Pitch Perfect, providing the most complete take of the “coming of age” rivalry since Bring It On. It’s a sharp script, hilarious and never once drops its entertaining pace.

On that same front, there is also the little seen Take Me Home Tonight from a few years back. A riff on the popular 80s party flick, Topher Grace, Anna Faris and Dan Fogler offer one of, if not the greatest version, of 20-something-hood. It will be a welcome watch for those pondering what to do after they graduate.

There is also the perennial “after-grad” movie St. Elmo’s Fire having “The Brat Pack” deal with their quarter-life crises. It really skates the fine line of believability, but is full of retro 80s goodness to make up for that.

For those of you not graduating, and are just ready to hit the summer on a high note, you might want to pop in Grease and prepare for all of those great “summer nights” you’ll be having over the next couple months. You might also want to check out Wet Hot American Summer for a hilarious take on summer camps and Paul Rudd providing the most hilarious douche bag to ever grace the silver screen.

I can also recommend a few more “serious” selections. Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me screams friends in the summer, if not a little more darkly than the rest of these suggestions. There is also the entire Friday the 13th series that will provide just enough fright for you to begin the summer with.

If you’re not really into the whole slasher thing though, you must grab your copy of Jaws before the summer starts and just bask in the pure Spielbergian awesomeness of it all. Combine that with a screening of Jurassic Park and you might have the best double header you’ll watch all year.

Some Like it Hot, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cool Hand Luke, Modern Times and Seven Samuri should suffice for those wanting to further their film educations and also provide the warmth of what summer is all about.

But for the lot of you, who just want to relax in the summer sun and think about nothing but tanning and the beach, maybe you want to skip the whole movie thing. Grab your nearest “summer songs” and just play yourself right into the non-exam, professor-less break that we call summer.

Or watch The Princess Bride. Yeah, do that instead.