23 Spring Break Movies That’ll Make You Feel Like You're On Vacation
Beware the sharks. 🦈
Ah, spring break, that gloriously messy time when beer flows like water and restraint goes to die. But, if you're not planning on packing a bathing suit and heading to a tropical locale—Los Cabos, anyone?—this year (relatable), you can still have a classic spring break experience in front of your television. This is what spring movies were made for! Granted, movies that specifically take place during spring break are few and far between. Of course, there's Spring Breakers, starring Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez, or Spring Breakdown, starring Amy Poehler and Rachel Dratch, but the quintessential "spring break shenanigans" is really just a sub-genre of the summer/beach/road trip vacation movie. Not everything has to actually be about spring break to give off spring break vibes.
That said, the "spring break shenanigans" sub-genre has recently evolved from an excuse to show a bunch of mostly naked people into some surprisingly decent films. These days, the spring break movie is about the mess that can ensue when you combine horny youngs with alcohol and sun. A popular sub-sub-genre of the spring break movie is the "scary survival movie in an exotic location" involving sharks, a demonic curse, and the Fyre Festival (shudder). A more fun recent addition to the spring break movie genre is the "woman exploring sex and hookups in a way that doesn't shame her," which I can totally appreciate. Don't worry, there's still some nakedness in here too, lol.
So, we've put together a mix of spring break vibe movies and spring break movies that'll all get you in the vacation mood. Given the wild antics in some of these flicks, this list will either have you hitting confirm on that hotel-booking app (stay safe, peeps!) or staying in your bed forever. Either way, here are the 23 best spring break movies to watch to inspire your next trip or cure your FOMO for good.
Olivia Truffaut-Wong is an entertainment and culture writer and editor who will never turn down a romance or superhero movie. Her work has been featured in The Cut, Refinery29, Teen Vogue, Polygon, Bustle, and more.
Emily is the entertainment editor at Cosmopolitan, which is a nice way of saying she watches way too much TV and constantly wants to tell you about it.
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