Attention: There’s a new era of teen comedy upon us, and Sam Morelos is leading the way. The 19-year-old stars in the new Hulu movie Summer of 69, which tells the story of an awkward teen named Abby who hires an exotic dancer (played by Chloe Fineman) to help her seduce her high school crush before she graduates. Oh, and if you’re wondering where the movie gets its title, it’s because Sam has a very specific plan with a very specific act in mind for getting down and dirty with her crush.
Yeah, Summer of 69 is raunchy, but it’s also turning the teen comedy on its head (um, pardon the pun?) by centering a character “learning how to love who she is, and feel confident in that, and fly that freak flag.”
Summer of 69 is Sam’s first movie. That’s not to say they aren’t already making a name for themself. They starred in Netflix’s That ’90s Show, and when I spoke with them over Zoom, they were taking a break from filming the upcoming Colleen Hoover adaptation Regretting You. But, Sam felt a little “imposter syndrome” stepping onto their first film set with Summer of 69.
“You’re around the funniest people in the world,” Sam tells me. “You’re around like literal SNL [alums], critically acclaimed, widely known, funny people. Their job is to be funny. I was like, ‘Well, how do I hold a candle to these people?’ All of them just wanted to play. I’m like, ‘I guess I’ll just play with them.'”
Those “funny people” Sam is referring to include their co-stars Chloe, Liza Koshy, and Nicole Byer, as well as writer-director Jillian Bell. They called Jillian “a rock” and “the glue that held us all together,” and their co-stars are literal “idols.”
“It was a beautiful thing to have my imposter syndrome quelled by Jillian and also use it for Abby,” Sam explains. “Just like the universality of being a teenager and how awkward it is to be a teenager.”
Sam also got a ton of support from her co-star Chloe, who plays exotic dancer Santa Monica. Not only did they share the screen in the Summer of 69, but Chloe is also a New York University alum, which is where Sam currently attends college. “She continues to be a mentor and a big sister in that way,” Sam shares. “We get to relate to each other in a college experience way.”
Plus, Sam took notes on the way that Chloe, well… takes notes. “She would come in, the funniest person alive on set, with a notes app of all these [alternative] lines,” Sam says. “Like, oh, so she prepares.”
Now, they’re taking that same approach to her work in Regretting You. “I’m kind of a comedic relief in this really sad movie,” they share. “The director was all like, ‘Yeah, I want you to improv. I want you to make your own jokes.’ I just followed Chloe’s lead and now I have a notes app of alt lines that I want to try out and just play.”
Chloe isn’t the only co-star Sam learned from. They also connected with Liza Koshy, who they grew up watching on YouTube (I mean, who didn’t?), and got some really poignant advice from her. “She really leveled with me,” Sam tells me. “She’s like, ‘Sam, I’m really proud of you. You’re doing an amazing thing by just existing on screen for us as South East Asian people.’ She’s all like, ‘I’m proud of you, but also take care of yourself. You have an amazing opportunity to do this thing, but don’t burden yourself with the responsibility of being perfect for other people,’ if that makes any sense.”
That idea of not burdening yourself with other people’s ideas of perfection is such beautiful advice, and it’s also kind of the message at the core of Summer of 69. “My favorite thing about this movie is that the makeover isn’t take ‘the glasses off, take the ponytail down, and all of a sudden, I’m beautiful and wanted.'” Sam says. “That was not it. The makeover was a shift in confidence.”
Summer of 69 is streaming on Hulu beginning May 9.
