Jillian Bell’s directorial feature film debut, Summer of 69, is a dual coming-of-age comedy that follows a high schooler taking lessons in romance from a stripper who is avoiding her high school reunion. While the premise may raise eyebrows, it manages to be both hysterical and heartwarming in large part thanks to Bell’s quick-witted comedic timing, which she honed in the writers’ room of Saturday Night Live season 35. Her ensemble cast, led by Sam Morelos (That ’90s Show) and current SNL cast member Chloe Fineman, also sweetens the pot and humanizes all their hijinx.

Morelos plays Abby, an effervescent but insecure teenager whose longtime crush on Max (HSMTMTS‘ Matt Cornett) leads her to spend all her Glitch savings on a stripper named Santa Monica (Fineman). Though Monica has been brought on to teach Abby how to 69 — Max’s favorite position as revealed to her by the school mascot — they have plenty to learn from one another. Bell’s screenplay masterfully juggles several storylines, with Santa Monica also occupied by her high school reunion (featuring Natalie Morales as an old rival) and her strip club’s insolvency (Paula Pell and Charlie Day make this plot a riot).

ScreenRant interviewed Bell, Morelos, Fineman, and Cornett about Summer of 69 at our SXSW media suite, where the cast and director had a blast breaking down set secrets. Bell explained how many industry seniors helped her get her bearings for this directorial debut, as well as revealed how “Summer of ’69” by Bryan Adams ended up not being in the movie, while Morelos and Cornett relived their filming day for the adorably unique тιтle sequence. Finally, Fineman shared her dance preparation, and the whole crew dove into stories about reunion jitters.

Summer Of 69 Is Full Of Dancing Queens

Even Without The Bryan Adams Song, The Cast Had Plenty To Groove To

The interview was far too long and fascinating to transcribe in full here — for the entire conversation, watch the video above — but it was important for Bell to note that “Bryan Adams was all about” his song being in the movie. “We were very close to getting it. I want to state that for the record,” the director emphasized. “He was all about it, but his co-writer wanted it to just be about the year 1969, which you have to respect.”

Despite that hiccup, the music in Summer of 69 is nothing short of perfection — beginning with the тιтle sequence in which Morelos and Cornett have the chance to go all out as Abby and Max on their school’s football field. Morelos, who got to do a bit of a cheerleading routine in the opening number, shared that “It took so much core strength to be lifted.” Thankfully, the director was cheering the cast on every step of the way. “On the other side of the camera, Jillian was all like, ‘And Jesus! Jesus!’“

“I learned how to back flip, quite literally, a couple of days before in two 30-minute sessions,” Cornett added. “I told our choreographer Travis Wall in our first meeting, ‘I want to do a back flip,’ and he was like, ‘I got you. We’ll do it.’” Those who have questions about what the result of all that practice was will just have to watch the movie, especially because Fineman gets her moment to shine on the Diamond Dolls pole as well.

Despite having once been demoted during compeтιтive dancing because she “couldn’t leap high enough,” Fineman pulls off pole dancing with aplomb with some help from her instructor (although Bell pointed out that Fineman did all her dancing onscreen!). “I don’t have upper body strength, but I’ve coined this term: whore on the floor,” the actor laughed. “It’s kind of like Succession’s boar on the floor… And it made it in the movie.” The scene itself looks very professional, and Fineman demurred that, “as long I’m not in the air, I feel like I’m a very good dancer.”

Summer Of 69’s Central Supportive Friendship Translated To The Set Itself

The Cast Knows How To Make Jokes And Still Life Each Other Up

The heart of the movie is without a doubt Abby and Santa Monica’s friendship, but what makes it so unique is that the lessons learned aren’t a one-way street. Morelos described the dynamic as follows: “Both of us don’t really know what we’re doing, and both of us want to figure it out together. Or even just grow alongside each other, which is a lovely thing.“

“It’s not purely mentor-mentee, teacher-student,” Morelos continued, before Fineman interjected helpfully, “It’s child-woman. Which was really easy to relate to. [Sam was] going to college… and I am forever not growing up. It was like our real lives were kind of influencing our movie.” Just like Abby and Santa Monica each take something valuable away from their newfound connection, so to did the stars and director.

While Bell felt “like I’ve been preparing my whole life” to direct, she did have a few fairy godmothers to shout out that helped her along the way. The first was her Sword of Trust director, who pᴀssed away in 2020. “Before I got the job, I had told Lynn Shelton [that] I really wanted to start directing. And she was like, ‘I will be there for you every step of the way,'” Bell revealed. “And even though she isn’t physically here, I just feel like she was. She’s so important to me, and she was such a great director.”

Among the other friends who offered a helping hand, there was Bell’s I’m Totally Fine director Brandon Dermer, whom she declared was the opposite of a gatekeeper. “He just would automatically say, ‘Here’s all the secrets no one tells you.’” It was that warmth and generosity that the director transmitted to her cast and crew, and the Summer of 69 actors praised their costars for spreading it.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series… The Reunion?

Matt Cornett Shares His Thoughts On EJ’s Whereabouts

I couldn’t close out a conversation about high school reunions without mentioning HSMTMTS, in which Cornett starred as the hapless but lovable E.J. Caswell. After losing Gina and only getting into Duke via favors from his father, how is the character faring post-graduation? Cornett had a very optimistic take.

Matt Cornett: I think E.J. is so incredibly happy with where he is. I think E.J. learned a lot and now is like a 60-year-old man that has the wisdom of any elder man that I know. I think he’s happy with where everybody else is at. He’s always been the guy that as long as Gina’s happy, he’s happy. As long as Nini’s happy, he’s happy. And now as long as Ricky’s happy, he’s happy.

I think we see that in season 4. He’s realizing now that adulthood is right around the corner, and that comes a lot of maturity and a lot of responsibility, and realizing that the small petty stuff really doesn’t matter.

He’s even hopeful (though cautious) about the possibility of a High School Musical reunion, noting that, “I see them all the time. We all still hang out, and I see Josh [Bᴀssett] quite literally every other day. So, I hope there’s something in the future that’s an official actual thing.”

Check out our other SXSW 2025 interviews here:

• The Ballad of Wallis Island
• Another Simple Favor
• American Sweatshop
• The Accountant 2
• Surviving Earth
• The Surrender
• The Threesome
• The Astronaut
• Hallow Road
• Drop
• ASH
• O’Dessa
• Sweetness
• The Studio
• It Ends
• Clown in a Cornfield
• How Was Your Weekend?
• The Rivals of Amziah King
• Bella Ramsey & The Last of Us
• Pedro Pascal & The Last of Us

Source: Screen Rant Plus