Among the low-hanging fruits of satire, sleepaway theater camps would dangle about as low as social-media influencers and Def Leppard cover bands.
But a new comedy by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, energetically wades into the kind of mockumentary territory Christopher Guest would approve of. The spirit of 鈥淏est in Show鈥� and 鈥淲aiting for Guffman鈥� is often present, for better and worse, in Gordon and Lieberman鈥檚 film, which first debuted at Sundance earlier this year.
But theirs is a much more earnest, loving lampoon, made by a group of friends with obvious affection for musical theater. Gordon and Lieberman co-wrote the script with Ben Platt and Noah Galvin, expanding their 2020 18-minute short. The result is something too tame for rich parody, but knowing enough to be kind of sweet. 鈥淭heater Camp,鈥� at least, has the song and dance part down pat.
The upstate New York camp of AdirondACTS has been pluckily kept running for years by its founder, Joan (Amy Sedaris). She's intended to be the main character of a documentary on the camp. But in the opening moments of the film, while Joan and manager Rita (Caroline Aaron) are out recruiting campers, she's knocked into a coma by strobe lights in a middle school production of 鈥淏ye Bye Birdie.鈥�
It's a funny enough gag but a crushing blow to the film. Taking Amy Sedaris off screen in a mockumentary that might have starred her is like killing Fred Astaire off in the first number. You just don't do it. So who are our characters instead? Joan's son, Troy (Jimmy Tatro), comes in to run the camp. He's pretty much their worst nightmare: a social media-promoting finance bro who always avoided his mother's camp because, he says, he was busy doing 鈥渄ope (expletive)鈥� instead.
When Troy opens a new summer season, plenty of eyerolls follow 鈥� especially from Amos (Platt), the head of drama, and his close friend and collaborator Rebecca-Diane (Gordon). They nevertheless forge ahead with the summer's programs, including 鈥淭he Crucible Jr.," an 鈥渋mmersive鈥� 鈥淐ats鈥� and their original piece, 鈥淛oan, Still.鈥�
Life at the camp gets underway while the threat of foreclosure lurks and a more well-to-do rival camp looks to take over. The inside jokes fly fast and frequent. There's a group of finger-snapping 鈥淔osse kids,鈥� a designated 鈥淢eryl Day,鈥� bedtime stories where the villain is non-union and exaggerated stakes on stage. 鈥淛oan, Still鈥� is said to be such an ambitious work of theater that Amos promises its child cast: 鈥淭his will break you.鈥�
All of this clever but too expected to be especially funny. The movie, the directorial debut for Gordon and Lieberman, loosely bounces between a large cast of characters, who know their parts well 鈥� maybe too well. They include the dancing instructor Clive (Nathan Lee Graham), the costume designer Gigi (Owen Thiele) and Galvin's tech director with secret dreams of performing. One notable standout is 鈥淭he Bear鈥� breakout Ayo Edebiri as a local hire who lied on her resume; her scenes have a lively unpredictability.
But if 鈥淭heater Camp鈥� struggles to find its footing, 鈥淛oan, Still鈥� leads it to a surprisingly terrific finale. By then, Tatro has turned his one-note caricature into an endearing ally. And the kids 鈥� all of them legit performers who are mostly relegated to the background for much of the film 鈥� take center stage. 鈥淭heater Camp鈥� might have worked better with a 鈥淢eatballs鈥�-style structure, focusing on a camper and a counselor. But it knows how to put on a show. With songs written by the screenwriters and Mark Sonnenblick, 鈥淭heater Camp鈥� in the end hits just the right note between satire and sincere.
鈥淭heater Camp,鈥� a Searchlight Pictures release, is rated PG-13 by the MPA for 鈥渇or some strong language and suggestive/drug references." Running time: 93 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
