It's been a tough year. Even in the best of times, summer is the season when we Americans like to switch on the cruise control and spend as much time as possible in the air-conditioned splendor of the multiplexes, thinking as little as possible.
That's in the best of times. In light of all the downright scary stuff that's happened over the past year, it should come as no surprise that the summer Hollywood has in store for us offers a menu of exclusively escapist fare — sequels, spy spoofs and an astounding array of action-comedy composites. As summers go, this may just be the greatest escape ever.
If popcorn movies aren't your bag, there's still hope, but you're going to have to work a little harder for it this year. Keep an eye out for films like 24 Hour Party People, All About Lily Chou-Chou and One Hour Photo, but bear in mind that they're only going to show up, probably briefly, at local art-film venues. Likewise for promising stuff like Steven Soderbergh's Full Frontal which, despite the appearance of superstars such as Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt, reportedly represents the director back in edgy Sex, Lies and Videotape mode. Other than that, it's business as usual, but on a grand (and, hopefully, grandly entertaining) scale the likes of which we've rarely seen. Let's get right to it …
May 3
Spiderman Summer officially starts right here, with what is sure to be one of the season's most popular movies. Early buzz is strong, Evil Dead and Darkman director Sam Rami is totally simpatico with the comic book sensibility, and William Dafoe stars as the Green Goblin. Anything else you need to know?
May 10
The New Guy Highly irreverent high school skewering from a couple of folks connected with There's Something About Mary.
Unfaithful The title says it all in this steamy infidelity thriller starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane. Director Adrian Lyne (Lolita) adapts a script from the master of bourgeois unease, French filmmaker Claude Chabrol.
May 17
Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones Jar Jar Binks may not be around much in this year's model, but now we have N'Sync to contend with in this latest installment of George Lucas' pop culture franchise. Will that stop anyone from buying tickets? Don't count on it, Bucko.
About a Boy Based on the novel by popular Brit writer Nick Hornby, Hugh Grant stars as a skirt-chasing cynic who uses a 12-year-old boy to get chicks and then becomes pals with him. Sounds uncomfortably close to Adam Sandler's Big Daddy, but still worth a look.
May 24
Enough J-Lo as a happy housewife who discovers she's married to the husband from Hell.
Insomnia Director Christopher Nolan's follow-up to Memento is actually a remake of an odd, 1997 Norwegian thriller about a sleep-deprived cop tracking a killer. Al Pacino stars.
Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron Dreamworks does a 180 turn from the edgy, animated irreverence of Shrek, with this traditionally animated tale of a courageous and high-spirited horsie finding love, friendship and other good stuff on the American frontier.
May 31
The Sum of All Fears Ben Affleck steps into the increasingly creaky shoes of Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan in this latest adaptation of a Tom Clancy spy thriller. A deadly plot to bring about World War III is unleashed by an international Neo-Nazi conspiracy.
The Importance of Being Earnest Rupert Everett again confirms his affinity for Oscar Wilde and proves how good he looks in eveningwear.
June 7
Bad Company Another sure sign of the impending Apocalypse: a buddy picture starring Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock.
The Tuxedo This latest Jackie Chan project is a secret agent spoof co-starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. Expect the patented Chan blend of action and comedy.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Chick Flick Supreme from Thelma and Louise scripter Callie Khouri, starring Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, Ellen Burstyn, Maggie Smith and many others of the female persuasion.
June 14
Scooby-Doo Zoinks! Freddie Prinze Jr. and Matthew Lillard may never find more perfect roles, starring alongside a crime-solving CGI dog in this big screen version of the ultimate cult cartoon show from the '70s.
Windtalkers Ace action director John Woo and Nicolas Cage team up for the first time since Face/Off in this long-delayed World War II adventure.
The Bourne Identity It's Memento meets North by Northwest, with Matt Damon starring as a man without a memory who spends the movie being chased and shot at by pretty much everybody in sight.
June 21
Minority Report One of the summer's surefire hits teams Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg with lots of groovy sci-fi action, cool special effects and possibly even a message or two.
Lilo & Stitch Disney's latest animated feature is a tale of a lonely Hawaiian girl and her adopted pet — a genetically altered extraterrestrial. We can't comment on the story, but previews of the animation style look like yet another step up for the Disney team.
June 28
Mr. Deeds Adam Sandler makes a bid for Jim Carrey-like respectability in this remake of a Frank Capra movie about an unassuming everyman (reinvented as a typical Sandlerian doofus) who inherits a fortune. Co-stars Winona Ryder, Steve Buscemi and John Turturro add a sprinkling of credibility.
Hey Arnold! The Movie Big screen version of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon about a kid who resembles a benign hammerhead shark.
July 3
Men in Black 2 The blurbs for this action-comedy-sci-fi say it all: same planet, different scum. Was a sequel ever so sequel-like? Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are the human stars amid the gaggle of special effects. Like Mike Magical shoes turn a pint-size teen into an NBA superstar. Hip-hopper Lil' Bow Wow stars.
The Powerpuff Girls Movie The hippest cartoon currently on TV (outside Sponge Bob Squarepants) gets its big screen due. Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup and Mojo Jojo tear it up.
July 12
Gangs of New York Another long-delayed project, this one from Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio (remember him?) as a young man caught up in the Irish-Italian gang wars of the mid 19th Century.
The Road to Perdition American Beauty director Sam Mendes and Tom Hanks collaborate on a Depression-era period piece about an Irish hit man looking for revenge and discovering something more meaningful.
Reign of Fire Retro-futuristic fantasy with fire-breathing dragons and Matthew McConaughey.
July 19
Stuart Little 2 Michael J. Fox returns as the voice of the plucky little mouse who knows the true meaning of the word "family."
Eight Legged Freaks Yet another action-comedy-sci-fi hybrid, this one prompting the question: What's more horrible — an invasion of deadly mutant spiders or David Arquette?
Halloween: Resurrection The eighth installment in this markedly over-the-hill horror series features Busta Rhymes. Give it up.
K-19: The Widowmaker Shades of Crimson Tide. A not completely ship-shape nuclear sub, the looming possibility of global war and major star power (Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson) are the primary components in this comeback thriller from director Kathryn Bigelow (Near Dark, Blue Steel, Strange Days).
July 26
Austin Powers in Goldmember Yeah, baby! The latest manifestation of Austin Powers' transformation from simple 007 spoof to pop culture phenomenon. And he's still funny, too!
The Country Bears Christopher Walken supplies one of the voices in this oddball offering about a pack of past-their-prime animatronic bears.
Aug. 2
XXX Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen and star Vin Diesel reunite in this action piece about an extreme sports athlete turned spy.
Signs With a nod and a wink at Close Encounters of the Third Kind, M. Knight Shyamalan (Sixth Sense, Unbreakable) teams with Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix in a thriller about enormous, inscrutable markings that mysteriously appear on a Pennsylvania family's farm.
Aug. 9
Spy Kids 2 Robert Rodriguez's return to the colorful, kid-friendly, high energy and high style spy-spoof terrain of Spy Kids is one of the most welcome sequels of this sequel-heavy summer, at least around my house.
Bloodwork Clint Eastwood as a really old FBI agent huffing and puffing away on the trail of a murderer.
Ring Mulholland Drive's Naomi Watts stars in the Hollywood remake of a Japanese creepfest that was one of the scariest movies of recent years. Let's hope they don't mess this one up.
Aug. 16
Master of Disguise The return of Dana Carvey. The SNL vet's mimic skills are on full display in this lark about an Italian waiter saving the world from an evil criminal mastermind.
Serving Sara Nasty comedic doings as a gold-digging wife and a more-or-less innocent bystander (Elizabeth Hurley and Matthew Perry) embark on a cross-country trip.
The Adventures of Pluto Nash Sci-fi comedy starring Eddie Murphy as plucky nightclub owner standing up against local mobsters — on the moon. Featuring Pam Grier in an all but obligatory appearance.
Aug. 23
A Guy Thing Can Jason Lee and Julia Stiles find true love this late in the summer? You betcha.
This article appears in May 2-8, 2002.