23 Spring Break Movies That’ll Make You Feel Like You're On Vacation
Beware the sharks. 🦈
Ah, spring break, that gloriously messy time when beer flows like water and restraint goes to die. But, if you're not planning on packing a bathing suit and heading to a tropical locale—Los Cabos, anyone?—this year (relatable), you can still have a classic spring break experience in front of your television. This is what spring movies were made for! Granted, movies that specifically take place during spring break are few and far between. Of course, there's Spring Breakers, starring Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez, or Spring Breakdown, starring Amy Poehler and Rachel Dratch, but the quintessential "spring break shenanigans" is really just a sub-genre of the summer/beach/road trip vacation movie. Not everything has to actually be about spring break to give off spring break vibes.
That said, the "spring break shenanigans" sub-genre has recently evolved from an excuse to show a bunch of mostly naked people into some surprisingly decent films. These days, the spring break movie is about the mess that can ensue when you combine horny youngs with alcohol and sun. A popular sub-sub-genre of the spring break movie is the "scary survival movie in an exotic location" involving sharks, a demonic curse, and the Fyre Festival (shudder). A more fun recent addition to the spring break movie genre is the "woman exploring sex and hookups in a way that doesn't shame her," which I can totally appreciate. Don't worry, there's still some nakedness in here too, lol.
So, we've put together a mix of spring break vibe movies and spring break movies that'll all get you in the vacation mood. Given the wild antics in some of these flicks, this list will either have you hitting confirm on that hotel-booking app (stay safe, peeps!) or staying in your bed forever. Either way, here are the 23 best spring break movies to watch to inspire your next trip or cure your FOMO for good.
Spring Breakers
In this truly ~wild~ ride, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Selena Gomez, and James Franco get lit before getting lit was even a thing. Seriously, this is the spring break movie to end all spring break movies.
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar doesn’t really have anything to do with spring break, but it does contain everything you could ever want from a spring break movie: a beach vacation, bright, sunny colors, murders, a very athletic threesome, and Jamie Dornan singing passionately to a seagull.
Zola
Florida is probably the most cliché spring break destination—and for good reason. Although, after watching Zola, the film based on the viral Twitter thread by A’Ziah King about a stripper (Taylour Paige) who goes on a spur of the moment trip with a fellow dancer (Riley Keough) that turns into a disaster, you might have second thoughts about traveling to the Sunshine State.
The Sure Thing
Technically The Sure Thing happens during winter break, but I’m making an exception for its decidedly spring break vibes. The ‘80s classic stars John Cusack as a slacker freshman who takes a road trip with his straight-laced classmate Allison (Daphne Zuniga) to California where his friend has promised him a “sure thing” hookup. It’s pretty much everything you thought Spring Break would be like, but never was.
Fire Island
Fire Island reimagines Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, placing it during a group of men’s weeklong vacation on Fire Island. Noah (Joel Kim Booster) just wants to have fun and hook up, but his plans are interrupted by Will (Conrad Ricamora), a grumpy, judgmental, but infuriatingly handsome man.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
If you ever wondered what it’s like to go on an isolated spring break trip, just watch Bodies Bodies Bodies, a disturbing tale about a old group of friends who reunite for a weekend away during a hurricane weekend, when a simple game of Bodies Bodies Bodies ends in real life murder and chaos. FUN!
Magic Mike XXL
Get all the fun of a spring break road trip, not to mention a strip tease to the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way,” without leaving your couch! What more could you ask for?
Palm Springs
Being on spring break forever sounds fun, but the reality is probably a little bit more like the hellish Groundhog Day experience of Nyles (Andy Samberg) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti), a mismatched duo who find themselves stuck reliving the same, sunny day in Palm Springs.
Girls Trip
There's nothing that screams "spring break" quite like a wild trip with your best girlfriends from college. I personally never went on such a drunk adventure, but if I had, I'd want it to be with Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Tiffany Haddish.
Cabin in the Woods
Before Chris Hemsworth was Thor (and one of the four hottest Hollywood Chrises), he was a college bro who went on a vacay with his girlfriend and besties to a remote cabin...you know where this is going...in the woods. Take notes and let this slanted, unique take on the horror genre be your guide to avoiding death in trope-y situations.
Truth or Dare
Speaking of deadly spring breaks! A bunch of college kids go to (where else?) Mexico and get entangled with (what else?) a...deadly truth or dare game? The first of two Lucy Hale movies on here, it's mostly ridiculous—the evil faces look like a Snapchat filter—with a few good scares in there.
She's All That
OK, yes, spring break is only a small part of the movie (sorry, Zack, your GF met a terrible man from The Real World in Florida and dumped you in front of the whole school!). But, thanks to the SoCal setting, the whole movie feels like one extended spring break.
Ibiza: Love Drunk
Harper (Gillian Jacobs) makes the wonderful mistake of taking her girlfriends on a work trip to Barcelona, and shit gets out of control. Also starring Richard Madden as... a DJ?
Dude
All your faves star in this movie that flew very under the radar. Lucy Hale, Alex Wolff, Alexandra Shipp, Awkwafina, and Kathryn Prescott play a group of friends who smoke a lot of weed and deal with the end of high school.
47 Meters Down
Honestly, this list needed more beaches, sharks, and Mandy Moore. But you can file this one under "activities you probably shouldn't do during spring break": AKA, go swimming with sharks. These two sisters learn the hard way!
Van Wilder
Van Wilder (Ryan Reynolds) would pretty much stay in college forever, so when his dad stops shelling out cash for tuition, Wilder will do whatever it takes to make back the money before he's forced to graduate.
Opposite a "sexy reporter" from the school newspaper played by Tara Reid, this is pretty much Ryan Reynolds' most Ryan Reynoldsy role, and one he probably won't be showing his kids anytime soon.
XOXO
Now this is a spring break movie. A group of six random 20-somethings (including Sarah Hyland) meet at "the biggest EDM festival in America, XOXO." But the stakes are highest for Ethan (Graham Phillips), a young DJ who gets added to the lineup after his music goes viral just days before the festival. No pressure.
Spring Breakdown
Do you want to watch Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, and Parker Posey go on a wild spring break vacation way, way after college? Yes, yes you do.
Eurotrip
Eurotrip pretty much speaks for itself. Some of the plotlines are...quite cringey nowadays, but also be prepared to have "Scotty Doesn't Know" stuck in your head until the end of time.
Fyre
You need to watch Netflix's Fyre Festival documentary, especially if you can't afford any spring break vacation of your own this year. It's basically an instant cure for FOMO.
Olivia Truffaut-Wong is an entertainment and culture writer and editor who will never turn down a romance or superhero movie. Her work has been featured in The Cut, Refinery29, Teen Vogue, Polygon, Bustle, and more.
Emily is the entertainment editor at Cosmopolitan, which is a nice way of saying she watches way too much TV and constantly wants to tell you about it.
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