“Theater Camp” Review
Ben Platt (Left) and Molly Gordon star in “Theater Camp” as two instructors trying to raise up the next generation of talent at a theater summer camp.
While many of the great comedy shows and films of the twenty-first century have been mockumentaries (fictional stories that pretend to be real documentaries), there is the risk that long-running shows like “The Office” and “Modern Family” have made us too used to the format. After all, part of what makes these stories so funny is that they feel more realistic. However, the comedy sub-genre keeps finding ways to stay relevant and keep us laughing with shows like “Documentary Now!” and films like “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” being clear examples. What “Theater Camp” has accomplished is remarkable with a fresh take on the mockumentary format that proves to be an inspiring tribute to what theater is capable of, the communities that it forms and the havens that protect them.
The fictional Camp AdirondACTS is a paradise for theater kids where they come to meet fellow drama geeks, participate in shows and improve their craft with the guidance of incredibly zany teachers. When Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris), the camp’s director, falls into a coma caused by something so darkly funny I dare not spoil it, her son Troy (Jimmy Tatro), a business vlogger with no interest in theater, is assigned to lead the camp. With the camp on the brink of financial ruin, Troy must find a way to save the place his mother worked so hard for as well as learn to work with the kids and teachers as they prepare to put on their most daring show yet.
Directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, who cowrote the film’s screenplay with Noah Galvin and Ben Platt, this film is just bursting with the infectious energy of theater. The decision to shoot this film in a documentary style just adds to the humor because you get this strong feeling of spontaneity. I have no idea if these shots were all planned or if the cast were told to just perform the scene while the crew improvised but, if this was all meticulously planned, you have no idea. I was also delighted to see that, unlike a show like “Parks and Recreation” that was shot digitally, “Theater Camp” was shot on 16mm film that makes the image feel more grainy and of lower quality which just adds to the realism.
Because of the hard work put in to make this film feel as much like an independent documentary as possible, the entire script feels organic and made me laugh so much throughout the film. If you have been involved in theater or, at the very least, know people in theater, this is going to feel very familiar. As I was watching and I heard certain lines from Ben Platt or Molly Gordon, I was reminded of things that I heard from when I was doing plays in high school or when I was in a shadowcast for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
The film’s cast is just bursting with talented actors of drama and especially comedy and musical theater. Besides writing the film, Molly Gordon, Ben Platt and Noah Galvin all have roles in the film as teachers with Rebecca-Diane and Amos Klobuchar (Gordon and Platt) working together to make an original musical in just three weeks with tensions between them steadily rising. Galvin also has a meaningful role as Glenn Wintrop, the overworked and underappreciated craftsman who we begin to realize is talented at much more than set building and fixing every technical difficulty.
Along with a slew of great actors like Patti Harrison, Caroline Aaron and Amy Sedaris, there’s so many wonderfully chaotic personalities to contend with, especially all of the child actors. This ensemble of phenomenally talented kids was fantastic to watch and I sincerely hope that all of them develop thriving and healthy careers in both film and theater. The idea of having kids act like adults for humor is nothing new but the way these kids manage to inhabit the personalities of Broadway stars in the making felt truly fresh.
However, it’s Jimmy Tatro’s performance as Troy that really commanded my attention because he represents much of the audience watching the film. He doesn’t really understand theater or the camp yet he’s entrusted with it and the wellbeing of the staff and campers. Seeing his journey as he begins to appreciate what his mom has built was truly moving and he surprisingly has great comedic chemistry with all the other actors, especially Noah Galvin.
When I went into this film, I wasn’t quite expecting this film to have a wonderful soundtrack but the songs composed for Rebecca-Diane and Amos’ musical were truly wonderful and are guaranteed toe-tappers. Written by Gordon, Platt, Galvin, Lieberman and Mark Sonneblick (who composed the score with James McAlister), they are fabulous, energetic and really show the commitment everyone had to the film.
While there are many films that feel like love-letters to theater like “Topsy Turvy,” “Tick, Tick…Boom!” or even “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” “Theater Camp” feels especially personal because of just how much the directors, writers and actors injected their love for the performing arts into this funny story. If there’s any film to watch when you’re wanting to feel this love for what it takes to truly create, this is it.
