Theater Camp: Film Review
A film about a bunch of musical theatre nerds? I was so ready for Theater Camp and it did not disappoint me.
The mockumentary-style comedy takes place in upstate New York, where the AdirondACTS musical theatre camp has been run by Joan (Amy Sedaris) for many years. Just before this year’s summer camp begins, Joan falls into a coma and her “en-Troy-preneur” son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) takes over, with no idea how to save it from financial ruin. While the future of the camp is in doubt, former students and longtime teachers Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) and Amos (Ben Platt) try to put on an original production named Joan, Still.
The film follows the students and teachers over the school holidays as they attend classes and rehearse for the shows. Troy is tempted to sell the camp to a rival represented by Patti Harrison, Glenn (Noah Galvin) is a top dancer but has been relegated to stage management, Ayo Edebiri’s Janet lied on her resume and has no idea what she’s doing, and longtime besties Rebecca-Diane and Amos are no longer in sync, throwing off the production.
Theater Camp, which takes inspiration from improvised comedies like Christopher Guest‘s Waiting for Guffman, was directed by Gordon and Nick Lieberman while the duo co-wrote the ‘scriptment’ with Platt (Gordon’s childhood friend) and Galvin (his fiance). People who are performers/actors or just into theatre and musicals will get a real kick out of Theater Camp because it is a well-observed satire of acting schools and teachers with inflated egos. However, those who don’t have this background or interest should still find the movie funny because the story is genuinely hilarious and the eccentric characters made me laugh out loud constantly. Not every single joke lands but the success rate is pretty damn high.
Platt has had a bad rep since the Dear Evan Hansen movie and Theater Camp easily rectifies that. His long-running friendship with Gordon (there is actual footage of them performing together as kids) really pays off in the improv as they just bounce off each other. Rebecca-Diane and Amos are both wacky, so there’s plenty of opportunity for comedy, but there’s also a deeper side about the future of their friendship. Gordon is excellent in everything and I’m thrilled that she wears so many hats with this project.
Galvin, who is adorable throughout, gets his moment to shine at the very end, Tatro is endlessly amusing thanks to his “bro” turn of phrase, and Alan Kim, the breakout star of Minari, steals all his scenes as a wannabe agent. All of the child performers are insanely talented and really sell the weird and wonderful original songs (Camp Isn’t Home hit me in the feels though).
Theater Camp is so much fun. I want to watch it again.
In cinemas Friday 25th August