69, aka the sex number, aka the nice number, has pulled off quite the PR coup over the past two decades or so. While Millennials hardly discovered the sex position, they’ve done wonders for laundering it. Now it can be the title of a film—and yes, that is what the 69 in Summer of 69 refers to—without most blinking an eye, never mind objecting. And people say real change isn’t achievable.

The summer in question is the one Abby Flores (Sam Morelos) plans on. Or dreaming about, at least. For years, she’s had a massive crush on Max Warren (Matt Cornett). He’s the one student she points out—besides her—that isn’t “named after a disciple or luxury brand.” After years of pining, he and his longtime girlfriend Mercedes (Ava DeMary) finally broke up the last week of Senior year. Now is Abby’s time to shoot her shot.

So she does what any socially awkward 17-year-old with a successful video game streaming hustle does. She pays the always-in-the-know school mascot to give her an angle. He helpfully reveals that Max’s favorite sexual position is the nice number. For the virginal Abby, that understandably feels more like a major league move than something a first-time minor leaguer can fake. Unwilling to ruin her shot with Max because she can’t nail a 69 the first time, she sets out to hire a sex coach.

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She finds one in the initially deeply disinterested Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman), a local stripper (the film emphasizes “stripper” over “dancer” multiple times).  What convinces Santa Monica is a pile of money. Incorrectly, but understandably, concluding Abby is a little rich girl, the new sex coach believes her teenage client can pay her 20,000 dollars at the end of the week. With that money, SM intends to buy the club where she dances before slimy Rick Richards (Charlie Day) seizes it for himself. Lessons and improbable friendships follow in short order.

There’s an agreeably shaggy quality to Summer of 69, an awareness that it is a hangout film with very little to do and thus no need to rush. That eventually creates a bottleneck in the movie’s final act, but even that feels like form following function. How many people squeeze a raft full of events and experiences into their final weeks of Senior year after months and years of promising themselves they’d get to it? 69’s last 20 minutes have that same antic, overcaffeinated, underslept feel. Abby’s frequent fantasy sequences add to this vibe, often invading a scene more several moments before it becomes clear the movie has stepped away from reality.

Morelos, in her first feature lead, is a delightfully winning protagonist. Like most teens, she’s surprisingly competent and adaptable one moment, an utter mess the next. The script by Bell, Liz Nico, and Jules Byrne fails her a bit. It doesn’t build a convincing argument on why she ended up friendless at 17. Her goofy, affable manner shines through every scene. She might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but she’d definitely have her niche. Sure, it’s easy to see how mooning over Max since elementary school would mean she’s never dated. But to generalize that to all social relationships seems far-fetched. It’s taken as rote when it should’ve gotten a bit more exploration. Still, it’s a minor complaint that doesn’t rob Morelos of a breakout performance.

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It’s easier to grok how Fineman became the Santa Monica audiences meet in this movie. The details capture why she’d be all-in for her fellow dancers, but prickly and dismissive of anyone outside that circle. Impressively, it does so without casting stripping as inherently horrible or a fall from grace. Fineman does a nice job of showing the audience all those beats without going to a maudlin monologue or an endless stream of exposition.

The supporting cast fills in the background nicely. In particular, Natalie Morales as a high school classmate of Santa Monica’s, Alex Moffat as the world’s most pleasant strip club DJ, and Paula Pell as Monica’s very bad at math boss are all welcome presences. Cornett does well playing both “versions” of Max, the unattainable stud of Abby’s fantasies and the affable but average reality.

Finally, a shout out to Risky Business, Santa Monica’s favorite film, which underpins two of the movie’s best scenes. It makes Summer of 69 the rare feature that isn’t damaged by quoting a better film.

Summer of 69 is working the pole at Hulu now.

Summer of 69 Trailer: