Theater Camp

As the feature length directorial debut for Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, this joyful film truly showcases the skills of these filmmakers, along with the overwhelming potential they have in the industry. They can truly capture the mood and atmosphere of an actual theatre camp in such an authentic way, which will make any aspiring actors and performers feel truly seen by this film and invest them in the touching story to make the humour hit so much better. This is where the film truly shines, as even if the audience has no interest in performing and aren’t touched by the sheer authenticity, they will be invested due to the standout performances which make every joke hit, having you laughing non-stop no matter how invested you are from the concept alone. This ability to resonate so closely with performers whilst avoiding alienating non-performers allows the film to be so widely appealing without compromising its overall point and setting. This shows the skills of the directors as they navigate this angle perfectly through never presenting the setting as one you must understand from the outset to enjoy, but instead presenting it in a methodical and clear way that lets anyone appreciate it, whilst simultaneously the performers in the audience are recalling all of their own experiences in similar places which makes them enjoy it even more. This allows anyone to truly love this hilarious film with such a distinctive and heartfelt setting.

This feature length adaptation of previous Theatre Camp short is based around the AdirondACTS theatre camp in upstate New York. Although it is a rather crude theatre it is the perfect environment for up-and-coming performers. As summer rolls around and the crowds of new performers begin to gather all seems to be going as usual and like it’ll be another run-of-the-mill summer, until suddenly its founder and manager Joan (Amy Sedaris) falls into a coma. With no one else to run the theatre her son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) must rise to the occasion and keep the camp running even in the face of complete bankruptcy. Teaming up with camp leaders Amos (Ben Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) and enlisting the help of the teachers and students, they are forced to pull together the best they can in preparation for opening night. With the safety of the camp itself in question, and dealing with so many eccentric students and teachers, you have everything you need for a funny but heartwarming watch.

James Patt