6 Movies You Can Leisurely Watch On The Fourth Of July
On the Fourth of July, I like to have movies playing. This is not a situation in which people are sitting around, actively watching movies, so this is more a list of something to have on that is both entertaining, yet doesn't require constant attention. Though, this year there will be two World Cup¹ games on, so that is also an option. The United States does not play on the Fourth of July, but Canada is playing, which is pretty close to the United States. Also, France is playing, a country that once gave us a statue. (If you are reading this and you do not live in the United States, this will not prevent you from watching all of the movies I'm about to recommend.)
¹I've been watching a lot of World Cup this year. More than I'm used to watching, which probably has a lot to do with it being played in the time zones I live in or near. Look, I'm no expert on soccer, but I've noticed something and I've been sharing my insights on social media about this: the teams that just kick the ball into the net seem to have more success than the teams that don't. I'm a firm believer that the soccer players should just kick the ball into the net. This is my two cents.
A movie not on this list that you might be expecting is Independence Day.² It's too busy and stressful. The perfect Fourth of July background movie should have at least some breeziness to it. It can not be about the potential destruction of the world. In fact, five of these six movies feature beaches. Seeing a beach is a huge plus, even if there's a deadly shark just off of that beach who wants to eat us.
²Here's me favorite Independence Day story. When I was in college at the University of Missouri, Homecoming was a huge deal. I am under the impression it still is, but I don't attend. We had to put on these elaborate sketches, that were basically full-on plays that included dance numbers and required sets to be built. The theme that year was political figures (could you even imagine doing that now?) and we decided our main character should give the speech Bill Pullman gives in Independence Day. The problem was Independence Day wasn't on home video yet. It was at the tail end of its theatrical run, but we just knew if we could include this speech, word for word, we would win. The closest theater still playing Independence Day was in Jefferson City, about 30 miles away. We drove there (“we“ meaning me and my friend Steve, who played the lead, and who also texted me today that he was disappointed I didn’t initially mention him), bought a ticket, and sneaked a tape recorder in to record this part of the movie. The plan worked. The speech was included. The audience loved it. Rousing applause! Our problem was everything else about the production was terrible and we came in last.
Okay, here are THE six movies you should have playing on the Fourth of July while you and your guests are doing other things:
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