Directors: Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman
Writers: Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, and Nick Lieberman
Stars: Ben Platt, Molly Gordon, Noah Galvin
Synopsis: The eccentric staff of a rundown theater camp in upstate New York must band together with the beloved founder’s bro-y son to keep the camp afloat.
I can easily see the appeal of Theater Camp. From reveling in its wacky artistic pride to the always reliably funny Jimmy Tatro continuing to do Jimmy Tatro things, the entire film practically screams critical niche hit. Not to mention, there’s probably nothing more adorable than watching a bunch of pubescents talk about their Strasberg method of fully embodying their roles physically, emotionally, and mentally. Then throw in a talented cast reveling in their roles; you have a movie that’s the love child of a one-night stand between a Christopher Guest-esque mockumentary and Wet Hot American Summer.
It’s that time again, and the “Adirondack ACTS” management is scrambling to fill their quota for the new summer theater camp season. This includes the camp’s founder, Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris), and her manager, Rita Cohen (Caroline Aaron), who manipulate parents into signing their kids up quickly as slots are filling up. Joan is a legend in the children’s theater camp circuit, making it a shock to her staff when she falls into a coma after suffering a photosensitive seizure during an electric version of Bye Bye Birdie.
Fortunately, this becomes a galvanizing moment for the employees and kids. The camp counselors, led by the best friends Amos (Ben Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon), rewrite the script to perform a play as a tribute to Joan’s contribution to their lives. They rough it without the modern trappings (like WiFi) and perks (like metal cutlery) of their rival camp next door. However, the situation turns when Joan’s dim-witted son, Troy (Tatro), shows up and discovers that the camp is facing foreclosure in the next week.
Directed by Gordon and Nick Lieberman, this is their first feature film and an adaptation of the short of the same name. They also wrote the script, along with Platt and the hilarious Noah Galvin, which is more of a story outline since all the dialogue was reportedly improvised. (According to published articles, the actors were given basic outlines to guide them through scenes.) The film has a genuine wit about it. For example, the play dedicated to their leader is titled “Joan, Still,” and Platt being mean to the tiniest of campers so they can draw upon that pain in their performances is hilariously droll.
For me, Galvin’s Glenn, the camp’s jack-of-all-trades handyman and technical director, has some of the film’s funniest scenes. For instance, when he tries to explain to Troy the difference between a “straight play” and a musical, when Troy misunderstands the type of play for an orientation, the timing of his response is priceless. Frankly, moments like this make the whole script being improvised much more impressive. I should also highlight the cameo by Minari’s Alan Kim, who is part of the camp’s agent training program.
While Tatro never fails to be funny, the storyline of his relationship with the rival camp’s lawyer (Together, Together’s Patti Harrison) feels like they exhausted all their improvised skills. It’s the weakest part of the story when it should be the main crux. While I can admire it for veering away from basic genre story structures and it can feel perhaps even refreshing in how it wraps up that plot point with a simple intertitle, the result still feels like a shortcut. And make no mistake, while Tatro’s Troy represents the viewers who are in the dark about all the inside humor that comes with theater camp’s theatrics, the film is too narrow, even with its unique point of view, to be embraced by mass audiences. And that’s fine, though, because Theater Camp is not for everyone; it works for the audience it was made for. However, as I walked away from Gordon, Lieberman, Platt, and Galvin’s film, I thought the movie had more to offer than meets the eye. This refreshing, charming, and unabashedly sincere film presents a common theme of community. If anything, that should be celebrated, if not praised, because it’s a rarity in cinema nowadays – unafraid to be what it is, proving we have more in common than we think.
