“Theater Camp” (directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman and written by Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman, and Ben Platt) starts off hilarious. The first half-hour is dotted with some truly funny moments, but by the film’s halfway point, the film gets in its own way, mining the same situations to get laughs but coming up empty. Joan Rubinsky (played by Amy Sedaris) runs a summer theater camp for kids called ‘AdirondACTS.’ When she unexpectedly falls into a coma just as ‘AdirondACTS’ is about to start for another season, her clueless social influencer son, Troy (Jimmy Tatro) is forced to take over the camp. As he tries to figure out the camp, teachers Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) and Amos Klobuchar (Ben Platt) butt heads with him, even as they try to figure out their own decade long relationship and where they’re headed in the future.
Like “The Office,” “Parks and Rec,” and most of Christopher Guest’s films, “Theater Camp” has a documentary crew following people at the camp around; and, of course, catching people at their most awkward moments. The characters here aren’t as diverse as those in “The Office” or as bizarre as those in Christopher Guest’s films. Instead, every stereotype of “Theater people” is on parade here.
An Abundant of Stereotypes of ‘Theater People’
We get a flamboyant costume designer who prefers death over wearing polyester. Then there’s the stagehand who’s able to fix anything and is constantly run ragged doing chores, but who secretly wishes to perform on stage. And then there are Rebecca-Diane and Amos, who have dreams of being something bigger than just summer theater camp instructors. They obsess over every details of the current production, wanting everything to be perfect and always forgetting they’re working with kids, which leads to some comical moments, like when Amos calls out one of the kids for being a “narc” with barely contained rage, as if she had been caught ratting on mobsters instead of telling where another kid was hiding their candy.
Ironically, Troy Rubinsky is the most interesting character in the film, even though he’s playing a <cringe> vapid social media influencer who never met a webcam or scam he doesn’t like. He has the attention span of a hummingbird and knowing absolutely nothing about theater or putting on a production, he’s a constant annoyance to Amos, Rebecca-Diane and everyone else at the camp. Even the kids hate him. But much like Chris Pratt’s Andy Dwyer on the show “Parks and Rec,” he’s just goofy and dense enough to be charming. I enjoyed his scenes more than any of the other characters, because he was the one wildcard in the film, someone who wasn’t a stereotype and who was genuinely funny most of the time he was on-screen.
Stereotypical Characters Dent the Film’s Impact
Ben Platt and Molly Gordon in “Theater Camp.” (Photo: Searchlight Pictures).
Ultimately, the film tries to tug at the heartstrings, but most of the characters were so derivative that it was hard to care about any of them. The big finale, a huge musical where the kids give all they’ve got to carry out Amos and Rebecca-Diane’s vision, was fun but not the heart-warming denouement it could have been. Eugene Levy’s Gerry Fleck at the climax of the film “Best in Show” has a much more touching moment, because you spent time with him and related to his fears and anxieties. He wasn’t a two-dimensional character. ‘AdirondACTS’ could have used some of that Gerry magic. Maybe including one of Gerry’s novelty songs about his terrier would have helped that final performance?
“Theater Camp” is currently only available to watch in theaters.
