Dateline: 4/18/00

What are the best parts of summer? The warm weather, the long days, going to the beach, going on vacation, and, of course, going to the movies. This is the moneymaking season for Hollywood, the time when the studios bring out their big guns. Summer movie rules do apply, however.

What are the summer movie rules? It's pretty simple. A summer blockbuster should have:
1) A big budget. When the budget makes news, you're doing well.
2) A big star, or at least a lot of attractive, young, soon-to-be stars
3) Special effects, action, romance, or a buzz generating surprise ending.
4) An inescapable marketing campaign. A fast food tie-in is obligatory.
5) A simple story. Save the drama and angst for fall. Summer is the season to have fun!

Be prepared for a busy summer at the movies. There's no clear winner this year (The Force won't be with us again until 2001) but there are a lot of contenders. Already, the major studios are positioning their films to maximize audiences. The release dates are still being shuffled as buzz builds for the big boys. Nobody wants to go up against Gladiator or Mission Impossible 2, for instance.

Summer audiences like things loud, fast, and dangerous. Action films fit the bill. The first 500-lb. gorilla of summer 2000 is Gladiator, from DreamWorks. Russell Crowe is looking young and fit again after his Oscar-nominated turn in The Insider, and he's getting pre-medieval on Joaquin Phoenix, the evil Roman emperor. Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Alien, Thelma and Louise) directs, so expect to see ancient Rome in its stylish best.

Action Films

Following soon afterward in May is Mission Impossible 2, and Tom Cruise is back as super spy Ethan Hunt. Script delays, budget rumors, and Tom Cruise's Eyes Wide Shut schedule made this mission even more impossible, but most studios are getting out of the way, except for one. Disney is releasing Shanghai Noon on the same day, perhaps to make sure that MI2 doesn't get Memorial Day Weekend all to itself.

Moving on to June, we find that Disney has another action flick in store. This time, Nicolas Cage is re-teaming with producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Con Air, The Rock) and committing some grand theft auto in Gone in 60 Seconds. While we're discussing old friends, let's not forget the remake of Shaft, starring Samuel L. Jackson. Richard Roundtree, the original Shaft, appears in the film as the uncle of Jackson's detective - proving that "cool" runs in the family.

Fourth of July weekend is the prize for summer films; apparently, it's also the prize for female audiences, who probably won't mind being dragged to see the two action films that open on Friday because of the hunks in lead roles. George Clooney is the captain of a doomed fishing vessel in The Perfect Storm, which could also be titled "The Big Wave" after the buzz the trailer's FX generated. Mel Gibson gets points for releasing his Revolutionary War film, The Patriot, on America's birthday weekend.

August action entries include Space Cowboys, The Replacements and Bait from Warner Bros. Artisan educates audiences on The Way of the Gun, and Dimension Films trots out James Van Der Beek as one of the Texas Rangers.

Comedy Films

After you've gotten your adrenaline going with a good action film, sometimes you like to relax and have a nice laugh. At least, that's what Hollywood is hoping. Woody Allen, Tom Green, and Norm MacDonald are all appearing in May comedies. DreamWorks' Road Trip stars Mr. Green and Andy Dick on an old-fashioned, cross-country, teen sex comedy. For more highbrow audiences, there's Woody Allen, Tracey Ullman and Hugh Grant in Small Time Crooks. Norm MacDonald is Screwed when his plot to kidnap his boss' dog leads her to believe that he is the one held for ransom this summer.

More misunderstandings ensue in June, when Martin Lawrence goes undercover as the title character in Big Momma's House. If a double identity really appeals to you, check out Jim Carrey and his costar, Jim Carrey, in the split-personality romance, Me, Myself, and Irene. Just in case you'd like to skip a little summer reading, Miramax is releasing Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, but read the Cliff's notes before you write your book report - this version is set during WWII.

Two American Pie alumni costar in Loser, about a geek who learns to be cool from a girl who learns to love him. Another gross-out reunion of sorts occurs in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps when Eddie Murphy resurrects his characters from the infamous dinner scene from the first film.

You may not think that Brendan Fraser is a geek, but he plays one in Bedazzled this August. Geek is not the word for Jon Waters, who skewers the film industry in his new comedy, Cecil B. Demented, starring Melanie Griffith.

Sci Fi/Horror Films

Hollywood has learned that audiences can't resist the special effects, especially in summer. Who could fight the temptation to see John Travolta as a nine-foot, dreadlocked alien in Warner Bros.' Battlefield Earth this May? The Earth always seems to need saving in summer, but it's already too late in Titan AE, from 20th Century Fox. It seems the human race has become homeless, and their fate rests in the hands of a teenager in this animated adventure.

Teen horror seems to have gone out of style this season, but that doesn't mean it can't be parodied in Scary Movie, from Dimension Films. The handsome Jude Law stars as a seductive monster who must take women's lives to survive in The Wisdom of Crocodiles. Michelle Pfieffer is Harrison Ford's wife in What Lies Beneath. Unfortunately, the other woman insists on staying in touch, the other woman's ghost, that is. Kevin Bacon won't be seen in The Hollow Man, but that's his fault, since he tested an experimental invisibility serum on himself.

Mutants rule the box office this season, as The X-Men come to the big screen. Speaking of mutation, if you were one of those people who claimed that you'd rather see the campy Japanese version of Godzilla in theaters than the American version, get ready to prove it. Godzilla 2000 is coming to a theater near you, and the zipper is showing on that rubber suit, baby! It's what's inside that counts, right? Jennifer Lopez tries to find out what is inside a serial killer's mind in The Cell, with unfortunate consequences.

Kids' Films

Don't tell anyone, but adults might also line up to see Dinosaur, Disney's ultra-realistic animated story of a heroic orphaned dino raised by mammals. An orphaned horse faces challenges growing up in Africa during WWI in Running Free. The fowl in Chicken Run would like to be free of their evil owner and Rocky the Rooster (voiced by Mel Gibson) has a plan in this Claymation film from the makers of Wallace and Gromit.

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle are animated and live action, as the legendary moose and squirrel take on Boris, Natasha and their Fearless Leader (Robert De Niro). Bruce Willis costars with another young boy this summer in a film with a twist. The catch this time, the boy is Willis, and he's not pleased with his adult self in Disney's The Kid.

You didn't think Warner Bros. was going to stop with just one Pokemon movie, did you? Get ready to meet all new "pocket monsters" in Pokemon the Movie 2000. Another popular children's show comes to the big screen in Thomas and the Magic Railroad, starring Alec Baldwin. In fact, it looks like Saturday morning at the movies this summer, as Disney offers Recess: The Ultimate Summer Vacation as their media crossover.

Everything Else...

A few romances, dramas, and documentaries have made the cut as well. Kim Basinger stars in the true story of Kuki Gallmann, in I Dreamed of Africa. Young dancers get their chance to take Center Stage in May. Michelle Rodriquez proves that girls kick butt in Girlfight, but will the throw the fight for the man she loves?

If you know what a "rave" is, or want to find out, check out Groove, which wowed audiences at the Sundance Film Festival this year. Another festival favorite coming to a theater near you is Tao of Steve, about an overweight teacher whose personal philosophy makes him a hit with the ladies. In the mood for a true story that will make you laugh and make you cry until the mascara runs down your face in black streaks? Don't miss The Eyes of Tammy Faye, the life story of PTL queen Tammy Faye Bakker Messner.

But wait, there's more! To make your own list of must see films this summer, browse the 2000 Summer Movie Preview. Enjoy the show