Top 5 Movies Set in Hawaii

The new Netflix comedy, The Wrong Missy, stars David Spade and Lauren Lapkus in a romantic comedy about a guy who invites the wrong woman named Missy on a corporate retreat to Hawaii. The film was shot in late 2019 on the Big Isle in Hawaii and well prior to the global pandemic which has made travel to one of the most beloved tourist spots in the world impossible for most.

With The Wrong Missy and Netflix stoking our desire to get back to the big luaus and lovely beaches of the Island state, I thought there was no better time than now than to do some dreaming about Hawaii via the best movies set in the 50th state in the Union.

Here are the Top 5 Movies Set in Hawaii…

5. Punch Drunk Love

Right off the bat and we’re cheating. Okay, so only a few of Punch Drunk Love is set in Hawaii but it is such a lovely, romantic grace note that I could not pass up the chance to mention it. Punch Drunk Love finds Adam Sandler collecting labels from a diet food company that are giving away airline miles. He’s found a loophole in the airline mile contest that allows him to get almost unlimited travel worldwide. When Sandler’s oddball scheme leads him to meet and fall in love with a fellow oddball, played by Emily Watson, Sandler cashes in his miles for a single day trip to Hawaii to meet his lady love. It’s a deeply romantic moment and the oddly romantic tone established by director Paul Thomas Anderson nails the Hawaii moment so well that it belongs on this list.

4. Any movie where Elvis went to Hawaii

Say what you will about the King of Rock N’Roll’s acting talent, when Elvis took his talents to the sandy beaches of Hawaii it was always fun and gorgeous. Whether it’s Blue Hawaii, Girls Girls Girls or Paradise Hawaiian Style, when the King went to the isle it was all about beautiful women, sandy beaches and rock n’roll. These aren’t great movies but as postcards with pretty people and a soundtrack, they’re terrific Hawaii movies.

3. From Here to Eternity

The romance of a Hawaiian vacation plays a big role in my opinion of Hawaii based movies. No list of romantic Hawaiian movies would be complete without arguably the most famous kiss in movie history. From Here to Eternity may be a one scene movie but that one scene is iconic with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr engaging in a kiss that even if you’ve never seen From Here to Eternity, you remember that kiss. Cultural osmosis for this scene is off the charts and that’s enough for it to land on this list.

2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

My favorite Hawaii set comedy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall has a wonderful comic cast that never fails to earn laughs. Mila Kunis and Jason Segal are the romantic center and their unconventional romance is funny and sweet while Kristen Bell, Russell Brand, Paul Rudd and Jonah Hill round out this all star comic cast with each getting a moment to earn huge laughs.

1. The Descendants

Shifting gears from the romance of From Here to Eternity and the comedy of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, we find family drama in The Descendants. Directed by the brilliant Alexander Payne, The Descendants isn't an oppressively dramatic movie, it has laughs, but the central story about a man coming to terms with the death of his wife, has dramatic grace that most movies set on the big isle do not have.

Most movies set in Hawaii are on vacation but The Descendants settles in with a family that has long lived in Hawaii and calls the island home. George Clooney delivers his performance with graceful vulnerability. The closing scenes in which he reveals his ambivalent feelings toward his comatose wife are incredibly raw and emotional, filled with guilt and resentment. It’s a powerhouse scene that has stayed with me since I saw The Descendants back in 2011.

Yes, The Descendants also takes time to show off the beauty of Hawaii, because no movie set in Hawaii can avoid the gorgeous sights, and because an important subplot involves one of the most beautiful places on Earth, but the drama and the humanity of The Descendants are what make it the best film ever set in the state of Hawaii.