15 Movies For Brat Summer

This one's for all my mean girls

Brat Summer is in full swing, and Charli XCX's album has taken over the world, the internet, and my life. As I've been jamming to the album while writing my movie reviews, I couldn't help but think of some films that match that brat energy. So, here are 15 movies that will have you Bumpin' that.

Challengers

We have to start the list with the brat film of 2024. Sweaty, hot, and soul-crushing. This love triangle wrapped around more than just tennis has an electronic soundtrack by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor that brings its energy up to 11. Zendaya's character, Tashi, is the ultimate brat and a cinematic icon in the making.

The Last Days of Disco

The OG brat Chloë Sevigny would always make this list, but I think there's something so liberating and beautiful about enjoying impending doom. The film follows Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale as the 80s club scenes come to a close, filled with that incredible witty dialogue and an unbelievably memorable dance sequence in the finale you don't want to miss.

Spring Breakers

If Charlie XCX were allowed to direct Heat, this might be the result, and I am all for it. Glam-pop queens in bikinis going down the dark path of crime and drugs while being corrupted by a deranged James Franco is what the movie theater is made for. This pick is more of a vibes pick for me. The film was heavily passed over but has now become a weirdly unsettling and fun cult classic.

Cruising

Who's gonna match my Friedken? (I'm pretty sure William Friedkin would punch me in the face for that pun, but whatever) Al Pacino is dancing his ass off in leather; tracking down a serial killer in gay clubs is all you need to know. It's suspenseful, controversial, and brat.

The Breakfast Club

The Brat Pack had to make the list. The iconic John Hughes classic is about a bunch of dysfunctional teens stuck in detention who are willing to open up to one another even though they all come from very different lives. It's emotionally moving and hilarious. It's a beautiful 80s classic with legendary music, scenes, and hijinx. The goth girl should have never done the makeover, though; that's not brat!!

Jennifer's Body

HELL YES. Jennifer's Body, starring Megan Fox, has become a cult classic, and shame on all of you who passed on this the first time. A demonically possessed Fox chomping down on all the boys at her school is phenomenal. It's now become a forgotten feminist text that's hot, gross, hilarious, and with some solid thrills. Megan famously wished they had marketed this to women and not men then, and it's obvious why! This Bi-icon deserved better at the time.

Saturday Night Fever

Disco might suck, but Saturday Night Fever does not. It has one of the greatest movie soundtracks of all time, along with Travolta at his apex, and it's got all the right moves. It's a wild movie about race relations in the 70s and social tensions amongst Italian Catholic Americans. It's strangely profound for a film that popularized disco in America. Outside of the heavy themes, it's just an enjoyable time with great energy, and the box office reflected that being one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies of the 1970s.

Mean Girls

It's on Charlie's track list, so it's got to be here, and it deserves to be. Mean Girls is a teen drama about succeeding, discovering yourself in high school, and surviving the popular kids. It's my generation's Breakfast Club, filled with Tina Fey's incredible comedic writing, which put Lindsey Logan and Rachel McAdams on the world stage with their brilliant performances. On Tuesday, we wear brat green.

Chungking Express

Wong Kar-Wai's masterpiece may be an unorthodox pick for a brat summer flick but stay with me. It is a film centered on love, loss, and the spaces between people, with some of the most gorgeous cinematography you've ever seen. It's a movie that is more about feeling than the plot. It may confuse or upset you while you watch, but you will return to it repeatedly. Some might not get brat the first time they listen to it, but they know there's something special there. Like brat, Chungking Express is technically a marvel to behold and gives some of the best performances ever put to screen. If you allow the film and album to swallow you, you are in for a lot of fun.

Bottoms

Lesbian Fight Club, featuring the two biggest brats in the world right now, Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri, is a must for this list. Two friends start a self-dense club for women so they can try to hook up with their crushes while Marshawn Lynch supervises; like, come on, that's movie magic. It's crude, hilarious, and moving. Bottoms is easily the best comedy in the past decade. The film is a play on Heathers and other satirical comedies of the 70s and 80s while still being its own thing. It's a comedy classic in the making.

Thelma & Louise

Let's take this brat summer on the road! Thelma & Louise reinventing the road trip film with two blue-collar women taking on the world of crime, sex, and adventure. It is a moving and hilarious script that features some of the most beautiful shots of the American West. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis cemented themselves in the same conversation as Bonnie and Clyde with proper care for each other—one of the greatest film endings of all time and an honest look at what freedom means.

Titane

I was going to put David Cronenberg's Crash, but he would have said Titane is giving more brat energy. Titane has that disgusting psychological energy that I crave from time to time. We have a hot serial killer who then has sex with cars after each crime is just cool stuff. It's provocative and nothing like you've ever seen that's filled with so much life and color. I'm just obsessed with Titane and how gross and beautiful it is.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

I think Antonio Banderas's Gen-Z curly-head haircut alone would get this on the list, but Pedro Almodovar's black comedy Love Letter must also be on the list. Possibly the funniest film on the list, it revolves around a woman trying to get an explanation from a man who's broken up with her and turns into a wild movie about terrorists, suicide, and gazpacho. I was so fortunate to see this in a theater this past year, and hearing the crowd cheer and laugh together was one of my favorite theater experiences in a long time.

She's Gotta Have It

It's Spike Lee's revolutionary indie debut. The film's focus on a black woman and her sexual liberation was groundbreaking at the time, and the incredible direction changed cinema forever. She's Gotta Have It follows an artistic, intelligent, and beautiful woman juggling three men simultaneously. Witnessing this black-and-white comedic masterpiece take swings at men, and their perceived ownership of women is groundbreaking. How messy and vulnerable a person can be feels right at home on the brat summer list.

Uncut Gems (UNCAHT JAHMS)

Did you think I forgot about our Queen Julia Fox? I would never. Uncut Gems by the Safdie Brothers hits with such kinetic and anxious energy that many consider it way scarier than most horror that come out today. Adam Sandler is a degenerate gambler who can never get out of his way, whether it be family, affairs, or sports bets. We also got Julia Fox in the club with The Weekend, so automatically is added to the list.

That's the list! If you have other suggestions, please leave them in the comments below because I am sure I missed a ton. Enjoy your brat summer!

Written by: Kevin J. Pettit