You cannot intentionally make a cult film. You make a film, and due to a number of largely undefined reasons, it may or may not evolve into a cult film; - either instantly or after several/many years. That's a theory I always firmly believed in. Why am I mentioning this here? Well, because - to me at least - it often uncomfortably felt as if "Wet Hot American Summer" was made with the deliberate and quite fanatic intention to be a cult film straight from its release. As a result, the film comes across as pretentious, with a too obvious "this-comedy-is-better-than-rest" attitude, and arrogant, with a sort of "if-you-do-not-find-this-funny-you-are-wrong" undertone. But, again, this is just my perception. And I've been wrong before.
That being said, I didn't at all hate "Wet Hot American Summer". And it did become some kind of cult film, even if it were only for the fact that it splits the audiences into two extremely opposite camps. 50% of the people who watch this film absolutely love it, and claim it's the most brilliant and funniest comedy ever made, whereas the other 50% completely hate it and wonder out loud whether the writers weren't mentally disabled. Me, as so often the story of my life, find myself stuck right in the middle.
The storylines in "WHAS" are occasionally very original and clever, and occasionally very weak and derivative. The jokes and type of humor are sometimes hilarious, but sometimes also tremendous misfires. All the characters are stereotypes and the themes are clichéd, but on the other hand, the situations are practically always unconventional, dared and unseen. The biggest trump of this film is undoubtedly its spontaneity and randomness. Literally everything can happen in "WHAS", regardless of how random, illogical or far-fetched it may seem. For that alone, this oddity deserves at least seven stars and my strong recommendation to check it out.
That being said, I didn't at all hate "Wet Hot American Summer". And it did become some kind of cult film, even if it were only for the fact that it splits the audiences into two extremely opposite camps. 50% of the people who watch this film absolutely love it, and claim it's the most brilliant and funniest comedy ever made, whereas the other 50% completely hate it and wonder out loud whether the writers weren't mentally disabled. Me, as so often the story of my life, find myself stuck right in the middle.
The storylines in "WHAS" are occasionally very original and clever, and occasionally very weak and derivative. The jokes and type of humor are sometimes hilarious, but sometimes also tremendous misfires. All the characters are stereotypes and the themes are clichéd, but on the other hand, the situations are practically always unconventional, dared and unseen. The biggest trump of this film is undoubtedly its spontaneity and randomness. Literally everything can happen in "WHAS", regardless of how random, illogical or far-fetched it may seem. For that alone, this oddity deserves at least seven stars and my strong recommendation to check it out.