Currently playing in UK cinemas is the US comedy, Theater Camp. The movie – directed and co-written by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman – stars Gordon, alongside Ben Platt and Jimmy Tatro and follows the story of a struggling theatre camp on the brink of closure.
In the movie, AdirondACTS is a summer theatre camp in New York that has been in existence for some time. However, as the new summer season comes around, the camp’s founder Joan Rubinsky slips into a coma, leaving her son Troy to take over in her absence.
But Troy is fairly useless when it comes to business, and when he fails to make some mortgage repayments, it puts the camp in a precarious situation. Yet rather than admit the pressing problem he faces, he keeps the camp’s potential repossession to himself.
Meanwhile, with Joan out of action, the teachers and students decide to put on a musical dedicated to their founder. Cue much hilarity as various thesps throw together a bonkers production about the life and times of Joan.
Set out in the style of a faux documentary, Theater Camp is an absurdist comedy about a group of semi-talented people and their attempts to put on a show. The film revolves largely around Molly Gordon’s Rebecca-Diane, Ben Platt’s Amos Klobuchar, and Jimmy Tatro’s Troy Rubinsky, and is gag-filled picture guaranteed to get audience’s laughing.
Did I laugh? Yeah, a fair bit.
The level of humour in Theater Camp is very high, with a couple of jokes producing some strong belly laughs. The tone of the film is kind of Glee meets Parks and Recreation, and if that sounds like your thing, then you’ll find much to enjoy.
But I must say that while I did find Theater Camp to be a lot of fun, at no point did it quite win me over. The gags were amusing, but I was never invested in the story and at times I felt like I could take it or leave it.
On the plus side, the cast are all great in the film – especially the younger cast members who play the students at the camp. These young actors nail the comedy and really understand the tone of the picture.
The faux-documentary approach to the film is also fun, with some on-screen captions providing additional laughs. I believe some audiences will have an absolute ball with Theater Camp, and will really connect with the material.
But for me, while I like what’s on offer with Theater Camp, I don’t love it. It’s OK, but something just didn’t quite gel and I came away on the fence.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this review on It’s A Stampede!. For more reviews, check out the recommended reads below.
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