With summer among us, so are the annual plethora of light-hearted, warm-weather, coming-of-age movie releases. One summer film has already made its mark– “Summer of 69,” Jillian Bell’s directorial debut.
The film was released on Hulu on May 9 and follows the journey of Abby (Sam Morelos), a high school senior and avid video game streamer on the brink of graduation, looking to impress her longtime crush Max (Matt Cornett). When she learns that he allegedly favors a particular sexual position, Abby hires a local stripper named Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman) to incite her wisdom on Abby and garner the confidence to go out with Max.
Bell, more commonly known for her work in front of the camera, in films such as “Brittany Runs a Marathon,” “Godmothered,” and “Rough Night,” took a new step in her film industry career at the helm of “Summer of 69.”
“Part of the reason I wanted to start being behind the camera was because there’s parts of me that get so nervous in front of the camera,” Bell said. “I realized I wanted to be on more sets where it just felt very free. I wanted to create the most playful environment possible.”
Despite being Bell’s first experience directing, “Summer of 69” found quick success, reaching the top mark on Hulu in early May, as the No. 1 movie on the streaming platform, according to Syracuse.com.
For Bell, the opportunity to create a welcoming environment on set came with not only success in the numbers, but perhaps a new career direction entirely.
“Maybe I’ll do a little bit of both,” Bell said with regards to whether she plans to continue working behind the scenes or in front of the camera. “But I really love directing. I’m really focusing more on directing and writing.”
Bell partnered with American High, a production company based in Syracuse, New York, to direct her first film. “Summer of 69” marked the Syracuse company’s 18th film.
Jeremy Garelick, founder of American High, took to Instagram to express his support for the film. “This one means a lot to me – not just because it’s hilarious and weird and full of heart (all very American High) – but because we chose [Jillian Bell] to rewrite and direct this movie. Her first time in the chair. She crushed it,” wrote Garelick.
The movie was filmed around Syracuse last summer. Bell and her crew utilized various locations local to the area, including the local strip club Diamond Dolls, video game store Voltage Video Games, among other spots, according to Syracuse.com.
For Bell, the decision to partner with American High seemed natural.
“I had known Jeremy [from doing] a small cameo in his movie ‘Murder Mystery 2,’” Bell said. “So when the script came, I sort of thought, well that’s pretty kismet, you know, I’ll have him sort of overseeing my first project and I loved the infrastructure of American High.”
Bell blends the light-heartedness of a coming-of-age sex comedy with the nuanced sincerity of identity discovery in “Summer of 69.” She said the blossoming friendship of Abby and Santa Monica tells a larger story about human nature.
“I thought here’s an opportunity to tell a true coming-of-age story for two different-aged young women,” Bell said. “I thought this could be a really cool, different take on a sex teen comedy.”
Chloe Fineman, a star of “Saturday Night Live,” saw her role as Santa Monica as an opportunity to help destigmatize sex work.
“I think it’s just, ‘we’re people,’” Fineman told The Hollywood Reporter. “And not to stigmatize [the sex worker community], or comment on it too much.”
Aside from “Summer of 69” being Bell’s directorial debut, the film included other firsts. For Fineman, this was her first movie with a female director. For her co-star Sam Morelos, it was their first movie ever.
“I had a meeting with them early on and said, ‘Look, we have a big responsibility here. We need to lean on each other and create the safest place possible,’” Bell said. “There’s no failing because any of it could be usable. You never know in the edit.”
The film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March before its international premiere on Hulu, according to Seven Days. Bell hopes her director credit on this teen comedy is the first of many.
“I just feel really lucky to have gotten this experience,” Bell said. “I really want to be able to keep creating those kinds of environments, and getting to work on things that I’m really passionate about.”