I spent the majority of my childhood attending the same youth club where I met some lifelong friends I still speak to even today! One of my earliest memories of youth club was a random Friday night where a group of older guys were buzzing with excitement as they told everyone that they had spent every night that week watching a movie in the cinema. As if this wasn’t enough they also confessed to watching the same movie three times in one week which as a young person was unfathomable! They told me that they had managed to get their hands on some sort of magical pass that allowed them to attend the cinema as much as they liked and as I reflect back on this moment now this pass was presented as a mythical, super secret, all-powerful artefact when in actuality it was simply a Cineworld membership card. Jump forward almost ten years later I am also an extremely proud cineworld unlimited black member and it was one of the best purchases I have ever made! Not only do I get 20% off cinema snacks, discount in select restaurants/cafes and unlimited cinema for the low price of just £11 a month (which is the equivalent of just two cinema trips a month) but I am also invited to exclusive preview screenings of movies before general releases and so I was able to watch the highly anticipated Theater Camp before anyone else!
Theater Camp tells the story of a struggling summer camp that descends into chaos as the founder and co-camp deity Joan (captured flawlessly by Amy Sedaris) falls into a coma while scouting out the incoming talent at a local musical. This results in her incompetent son Troy (played by Jimmy Tatro) not only facilitating the entire camp but in the process trying to save the struggling business. Along the way, we meet a collection of eccentric workers including the singing teacher Amos Klobuchar (played by the insanely talented Ben Platt), his long-time friend Rebecca-Diane (played by the amazing Molly Gordon), the flamboyant dance instructor Clive DeWitt (played wonderfully by Nathan Lee Graham), the constantly stressed stage manager Glenn Winthrop (played by the wonderful Noah Galvin) and the totally unqualified Janet Walch (played by the incredible Ayo Edebiri) who all try to band together to put of a musical spectacular in homage to their beloved camp founder Joan. I do have to say however that in terms of the story of Theatre camp, it is fairly predictable as we all expect the cast to overcome the obstacles and put on a wonderful show at the end. Additionally, throughout the movie stage manager Glen is shown to be a hidden theatre star and ends up taking on the titular character in the final musical performance. Almost contradictory however, Having taken on the role of stage manager in amateur dramatics previously I have never related to a scene more than when Glen is running around like a headless chicken during tech week as he keeps getting pulled in different directions to ensure everything is prepared and read for the show. This sequence ends with him simply rolling down a hill which is a feeling I know all too well during show weeks especially!
A highlight of being a part of the aforementioned youth club in particular was that every summer we would travel across the country to spend a chaotic week with other groups from around the UK to run wild in a massive boarding school building! It’s hard to explain the sensation of a summer camp to someone who has never attended one before, but you seem to enter a dome that exists outside of time and space where everything outside of the dome fades away and camp becomes your whole life! Relationships are formed in a flash, arguments erupt from nowhere, gossip is passed around instantaneously and people who you have only known for a couple of days become the most important people in your life! The creative choices and the insanely talented cast of young performers to wonderfully capture the essence of any summer camp which is only amplified by the added component of being a musical theatre summer camp. The portrayals of the outlandish activities, instant friendships forming, the occasional meltdowns and general fatigue by the end of the week were exactly what I saw/experienced when I attended my summer camps all those years ago! A highlight track from this show would have to be “Camp isn’t home (but it kinda is)” which is a very emotionally driven ballad that is a love song to the general concept of summer camp and how it is a place where everyone can find belonging. This song appeared right at the end of the movie which was a wonderful end to homage to summer camp. I don’t know how the team managed to do it but the creative time on this movie managed to film the movie in such a way that it appeared to be filmed on an old-fashioned, hand-held recorder the type of one parent would use to record key childhood memories before mobiles phones were so widely available. This almost filter effect alongside the mockumentary style (complete with constant text graphics in the screen) really helped to create an earnest quality as if it was actually a cherished memory that one of the kids had recorded and cherished.
Overall, theater camp is a family-friendly love letter to the phenomenon of summer camps. Musical theatre fans will particularly enjoy the inclusion of Ben Plat and the use of the chaotic show-building process that is shown throughout the movie. Those who have been on summer camps will understand the instantaneous connections, outbursts and how quickly everyone gets totally engulfed by camp life. As the intersection of both these groups, I found the movie creatively genius with a wonderful sprinkling of comedic moments throughout. I would rate Theatre Camp four out of five stars! If you want to get your hands of a cinema unlimited membership cards that grants you access to as much cinema as you can possibly handle then use my code RAF-41UF-82LQ-14EX-70BM and will be gifted a bonus free month. That’s unlimited cinema for a whole month totally free!
Rhysreviews 