User Reviews

Very funny mockumentary. Fortunately, my watching experience was also great because the theater was full of laughter. Seems like a lot of people like it too. Really don't understand why people don't find this movie funny.

I will say tho, there's no super deep, poetical, metaphorical story behind it. So just don't expect coming out of it with a new revelation or question about life. Just take it at face value. It's a funny movie. Set at a theater camp. With talented kids. And talented teachers and stage men. Some really great music pieces. With normal level of daily drama sprinkled through out. And lots of laughs and weird antics.

It's enjoyable and heartwarming. Which i think is just how mockumentary usually feels. And that's enough as a perfect summer movie! And i honestly don't think this is fully targeted for adults.

I'm not opposed if they adopt this as a tv series. I think that will be really enjoyable to stream.

Theater Camp is a very funny modern take on the mockumentary style. For me, it is reminiscent of What We Do in the Shadows kind of humor. It pokes fun at everyone; there is no traditional everyman.

Both ends of the spectrum are laughed at. We get jokes at the expense of influencer, bro-ey type guys, and also the classic, quirky, theater-obsessed kids. I think thats part of what made it so enjoyable. EVERYONE was made into a satirical hyperbole of a cliché we all know.

The story was nice, too. It takes you all over the place and ties together in the end for a cute, and still funny, conclusion.

It really doesn't take itself too seriously, and is a very sweet watch.

I loved this movie! I went to a Mystery Movie Night to see it, and most people around me were enjoying it- so I'm not sure why it's getting so much negativity. I laughed and laughed! It was wonderful to see true representation of theater kids and the glories and dysfunctions of this kind of group. I think a lot of people giving negative reviews do not know or appreciate the joy and diversity included in this most glorious group of humanity! I laughed, rolled my eyes, winced, and even cried. It is obviously for a niche group- but if you love theater or musicals, this movie is for you! It would be a great outing for a drama club to enjoy it and laugh together.

"You need to know that only 3% of people make it. The rest end up in a mental facility - or a Go Go box in Hell's Kitchen." A well-meaning camp counselor from Theater Camp

Theater Camp, like any camp experience, begins with an explosion of enthusiasm and angst as aspiring thespians and sometimes competent counselors prepare to field a musical called "Still Joan."

Joan (Amy Sedaris) is founder of AdirondACTS, a camp for both counselors and students, whose motives are honest and talents frequently not evident. Her coma is explained as "the first Bye Bye Birdie-related injury in the history of Passaic County." As if everyone's ability is questionable, the camp is endangered from takeover on the outside by snooty nearby Camp Lakeside. Creativity emerges despite serious thespian and administrative limitations.

Part of the film's salvation is Ben Platt, co-star and co-writer of this uneven mockumentary. Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman direct while they share writing with Noah Galvin (like Gordon, he's a veteran of Booksmart). The total contribution of those like-minded artists helps Theater Camp be just shy of snarky but subtly tongue-in-cheek throughout.

Indicative of the dual character of the film is that early on, the voiceover narration, a usual mainstay of documentaries, vanishes. Remaining, however, is the over-the-top enthusiasm for the future dramatis personae, otherwise known as having "theater-kid" syndrome. Enthusiasm abounds, success not probable. Yet, the mockumentary weakly takes off because it's the counselors who are incompetent, therefor mockable, and the kids, well, plain ambitious and well meaning, therefore less mockable.

When Joan has a stroke from strobe lights, her selfie-stick brandishing son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) takes a dicey leadership of the struggling camp. While he is humorously inept, Gordon and Platt as Rebecca-Diane and Amos are way too zealous former thespians obsessed about teaching and specifically writing and directing this year's original musical, Joan, Still.

The real stars are the campers from Alan Kim (Minari), who acts like an agent in training to Kyndra Sanchez (The Babysitter's Club), who plays a professional star good enough to make Amos jealous. Although you'll catch the similarities with Waiting for Guffman and Wet Hot Summer, the rousing, Broadway-like ending will convince you the wait for the on-screen ending and the fate of the camp were worth waiting for.

As this is summer, Theater Camp is a right antidote for the explosive Indiana Jones and Mission Impossible spectacles. If the memorable Oppenheimer or opulent Barbie are too demanding for you, the light-hearted, well-meaning Theater Camp may be just your ticket.

Many people love live theater. Even so, as non-actors, singers, or dancers themselves, many admire the finished product only, without considering all the hard work that goes into productions. My daughter and niece were theater kids growing up, so I get the "that was my life" connection, maybe more than most.

This movie will resonate with some people, but for many it will miss the mark. Sadly, it's a sweetly intended, behind-the-scenes, mockumentary style look at a world that not everyone can relate to, or will be interested in. I appreciate the efforts by the kids, but thought the story was a bit lacking, and the characters a little stereotypically overdone. That said, it's not a bad film, just not what I was expecting or hoping for.

Theater Camp is a great mockumentary that's constantly mining cringe for solid laughs. It's got just as much gleeful cynicism as it does real heart for a winning combination. Obviously it'll work better for theatre people but that doesn't mean it's even remotely inaccessible to anyone who isn't.

All the adults here get to show off their genuine love of performance whilst also sending themselves up in terrific fashion. While they're doing that the film offers a showcase for an immensely talented set of child actors who are all impressive performers with some superb comedic timing.

As directors, Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman use the mockumentary techniques pretty effectively, when it actually remembers it's a mockumentary. All the intertitles add so much, it's the ideal run time and it culminates in the performance of Joan, Still which gets some of the best laughs before culminating in a wonderfully heartfelt moment.

Joan Rubinsky is the co-founder of a theater camp and during one of the show, she has a seizure which puts her in a coma. Her son Troy takes over the camp and finds it hard to belong there as bonding with the staff as well as the kids turns out to be a real challenge. They prepare to perform a new musical based on the life of Joan while Troy struggles to raise enough money to save the place. The sub-plot also involves the two teachers Amos and Rebecca, who are behind the musical and their career differences take a toll on their relationship. Despite all the odds, how the kids end up performing the show and will Troy be able to save the place forms rest of the story.

Initially I did find it hard to get on board with the narrative with it entirely being the off screen life of these kids as well as the camp runners, basically life of theater artists and their antics. But I got used to it on time enough to buy into the narrative. Sure, the writing felt superficial as the financial concern and how it was dealt it was downplayed along with the subplots involving the staffers, where their issues were resolved too easily. But the entire third act and the musical play itself worked it's charm. Overall, it was definitely a decent watch.

IN A NUTSHELL:

I used to take dance, singing, and theater classes when I was a little girl and into my teens, so I really got a kick out of this movie. It's about an eccentric staff of a rundown theater camp in upstate New York during a summer when the founder's stroke put her in a coma. Her "bro-y" son had to figure out how to keep the camp afloat in her absence as the financial future of the camp is hanging in the balance.

The entertaining film was written and directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman with additional writing help from Noah Galvin. This is Molly's and Nick's directorial debut. They, clearly, had a blast putting this movie together. It makes for a fun summer movie.

The movie has already won "Best Ensemble" at the Sundance Film Festival. It was also nominated for other awards at other film festivals at Sundance, SXSW, and Seattle International.

THINGS I LIKED:

More Ben Platt, please! I just love his voice. He and Noah Galvin are a couple in real life. They both played the starring role in Dear Evan Hansen. Such a great stage play and movie!

The rest of the talented cast includes Caroline Aaron, Nathan Lee Graham, Molly Gordon, Jimmy Tatro, Patti Harrison, Amy Sedaris, and so many young kids who just got their break in movies!

There are some truly talented kids in the movie.

The story is filmed like a mockumentary and absolutely doesn't take itself too seriously.

There is a lot of spoken and visual humor. Thespians will be the ones that enjoy it the most.

The cards on the screen give us entertaining and often hilarious background information during the entire movie.

The ending is actually really sweet and touching.

We get to hear a lot of original music with amusing lyrics.

Fun fact #1: The film was shot in only 19 days, resulting in a whopping 70 hours of footage! It must have been painful to try to weed through all of the footage and cut so much out.

Fun fact #2: They filmed the movie at the URJ Kutz camp in Warwick, New York. Sadly, the camp is now closed, another reminder that we need to help support our local companies and the arts.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:

Act 1 establishes the characters and the goofiness, but the plot really doesn't present itself until Act 3 when it's quickly resolved.

People who aren't into musical theater or plays might not think the humor is very funny.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Profanity, including an F-bomb Visual and spoken jokes about doing cocaine.

Lots of children and adults in the LGBTQ+ community are represented.

A documentary crew is filming Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris) and her theater camp AdirondACTS in upstate New York. She has always been a theater kid and her camp is all for the theater kids. She falls into a coma from strobe lights in Bye Bye Birdie after only one day of filming. They decide to continue the documentary with Joan's son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) taking over the struggling camp.

It's a lot of light wacky fun with all the kids and adults. I only wish that Amy Sedaris could be in more of the movie. She has only about five minutes up front and a minute in the back end. This movie could do with her greatness as the lead. Nevertheless, there are a lot of fun wacky characters. This will probably hit home for all the theater kids out there. For the rest of us, it's still a light fun time.

The story is weak, which would be fine if the comedy was good. The comedy is weak, which could work if the story were good. As is, it's a painfully unfunny sit that's slightly elevated by a couple good performances.

The story - if you can say it has one - is about a theater camp's staff struggling after the owner goes into a coma, leaving her inept son in charge as a competing camp tries to take it over (with a representative played by the always-wonderful Patti Harrison). You can pretty much guess where the story goes from there.

Easily the worst mockumentary I've ever seen. It can't hold a candle to the movies Christopher Guest has made, or ones he's been involved in, or even more obscure ones like Take the Money and Run. The humor lacks any wit, creativity, depth, cleverness, insight, or anything beyond what any given seventh grade theater kid could come up with. Definitely one to skip.

"you guys are so talented, so unbelievable, this will break you. This will fully destroy you. Congratulations on being the most talented kids at camp."

i was that kid in high school that was in musical and show choir and vocal ensemble and honor choir and bell choir and flew abroad to foreign countries for competitions and went to college for vocal performance. I performed a RENT song at summer camp. I also grew up loving christopher guest, camp, wet hot american summer, school of rock, new girl, schitt's creek, popstar and the lonely island in general (from the 'bu and just 2 guyz days), glee (i know i know). I've mentored for the young storytellers's 10 week script-to-stage program for a few years before running my own classroom of twelve 5th graders and adult mentors, each paired off and writing their own 5-page screenplays which get acted out by professional actors in week 9 in an impov-esque performance showcase for friends and family. This film about a son who has to manage a summer theater camp when something unexpected happens to his mother and the cast of characters at this camp over the course of three weeks felt very close to home for me. I knew these characters intimately.

The film, based on the 2020 short film of the same name, is rife with a frenetic magic that is CLEARLY a product of being a dearly loved passion project by everyone involved in its creation (the film includes incredible archive footage woven into the fabric of the story masterfully, which additionally showcases just how long this film has been living inside of the filmmakers and screenwriters, begging to be told), and wow. Every performer is absolutely charismatic, magnetic, iconic, genius stars that have impeccable comic timing and je ne sais quois. I love how well this film communicates what a microcosm family energy is like. The found family so many of us find in each other in niche interest spaces looking to find solace, community, and collaboration we can't find elsewhere. Some of us finding confidence in ourselves and in our voices through the way. This film has SO MUCH HEART, charm, cheek, humor, passion, reverence, adoration, and is going to be beloved by so many people. There are SO MANY quoteable lines and jokes-instant cult classic vibes. I wouldn't be surprised if this film joins the criterion collection someday.

Molly gordon not only shines in her performance but her debut feature film co-direction with nick lieberman (also in his co-directing debut of a feature film) is scintillating. Their script, written with stars ben platt and noah galvan, is immaculately tight, sardonic, jovial, rhythmic, and propelling. The print itself is BREATHTAKING, nostalgic, and timeless. I loved the production design for the film but also for the final performance showcase. The original songs are so good i need the album stat so i can listen to it on repeat.

Patti harrison, molly gordon, ayo edebiri, amy sedaris, noah galvan, jimmy tatro, alan kim... i know i already said this once but the entire cast really brings it. Every single character is so fun and funny and talented 😭 spending time with them felt like hanging out with long-time childhood friends. And that's magic.

I forgot to mention how EXQUISITE the light is in this film like wowowowowowowowowowow. In awe. And again the production design, the costuming, the song selection of existing music to include with the original music is so inspired and well chosen. Very fun needle drops abound.

I enjoyed the film so much it was my second Sundance film that I watched twice back-to-back during my virtual viewing window. The performances are even more nuanced and layered upon second viewing when context revealed later in the film becomes knowledge held from the outset of the events of the film, the hindsight elevating even more already stellar somatically embodied performances. So rewatchable. If all of the sundance virtual screenings for this film weren't already sold out I would buy another 5-hour viewing window pass to watch this again two more times I really love Theater amp (2023) that much. I can't wait to own my own physical copy of this movie one day. What an absolute joy and an honor to watch.

Premiered at Sundance, Theater Camp is a mockumentary of a theater summer camp in the Adirondacks, where chaos ensues when the son of the longtime director takes the reins. The casting was great, particularly the numerous child actors that joined the improv in this film. Unfortunately, this movie is just not for me. The jokes and humor come fast and furious, though with mixed results. From the reviews, it seems Theater Camp is the Sundance favorite among former theater kids turned adults. As I'm not a theater kid and the mockumentary schtick is showing its age (with the exception of Abbott Elementary which is stellar), I just couldn't get into this movie.

Saw this at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

"Theater Camp" is a story about an eccentric staff of a rundown theater camp in upstate New York, as they band together with the beloved founder's bro-y son to keep the camp afloat, when she falls into a coma right before the summer session is set to begin. Director Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman definitely has a interesting direction style and there are some good directing throughout. Unfortunately, the film doesn't really have a strong hold as the narrative was pretty basic and the style of filmmaking ends up feeling a little overdone.

Mocumentary films are pretty interesting as they have a unique and hilarious way on parodying documentaries. Filmmakers like Christopher Guest and shows "The Office" were able to capture that essence pretty well. "Theater Camp" has some fun humor but the overall film didn't have a strong punch. Most of the characters had some charm but their charms fell through halfway and they mostly felt boring and unspecial to care about. The performances from the cast members were pretty good along with the child actors as well. The humor uses modern youth generation to appeal towards the setting and while some of the humor was good, others felt pretty unfunny and annoying to listen too. The dialogue had some moments but others felt really cringy.

The visual presentation is pretty good, the simple camp setting feels nature and colorful, and the last act of the film was pretty entertaining to watch. That being said, it was mostly okay but the film isn't something I would watch a second time.

Rating: C+

In the hills of New York, Joan built a summer camp for kids who are int theater. When Joan falls into a coma, her non-arts son Troy has to take over as manager, and he has to grapple with the camp's precarious finances.

Meanwhile, the staff have to deal with the theater. There is reference to producing an existing play and musical, but the highlight is supposed to be an original musical written by the staff. This year, they decide to honor Joan by basing it on her life story, and the writing barely keeps up with the rehearsals.

The emphasis is mostly on the adults, and some of the tensions between them. The performing kids put on a good show, though I somewhat doubt that they could have done that well in the very limited rehearsal time. The off-stage talent is almost nowhere to be seen.

So this is a nice, lightweight film for those not into the summer action / explosion blockbusters.

... Idk maybe I'm a closeted Theatre guy, if u get my drift haha but ya, it just worked for me - basically it reminded me of one of the old ensemble casted Christopher Guest films, ya know with Eugene Levy and all the staple players - you remember right? Those fabulously fun mockumetararies? - and I've long regarded Ben Platt as one of the all time great voices (I'm certain I'm not alone in this, but I don't follow the musical theater zeitgeist) and although this doesn't showcase his musical prowess per se, it does use him effectively in a comedic role and it just works - I highly recommend it and YES I only gave it an 8 but that's only because I never give tens and 9s are reserved for films that are truely extraordinary (and Rick and Morty haha) anyway enjoy.

I looooved this film! I don't think that you need to be a theater kid to appreciate it, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Having experience with childhood drama club myself, it certainly brought back some memories. This movie is not for everyone, but if you saw the preview and got excited about it, then you should give it a try. You will definitely be in for a fun ride. The film had a quiet gentleness about it. Although it plays around with the stereotypes of overzealous theater kids, enthusiastic teachers/counsellors, and all other weirdos that found a home in a magical place called the theater camp, it is a loving homage to all the misfits and lovers of the performing arts. It's not a high budget blockbuster, but it's a funny movie that touches your heart and reminds you why you should support your local arts and artists. Go see this film. It will warm your heart and keep you laughing.

I'm completely baffled by the reviews I am reading that are positive, especially from theatre geeks.

This was so bad it should be studied. I get that it was a mockumentary type movie but it makes the theatre world look awful.

The only redeeming part of the movie was the last ten minutes to see Noah Galvin perform. With that said, you have a movie about theatre and yet don't fill it with the star power you gas's best talents?

I really and left completely baffled and wondering if I was in another universe and watched a different version when you look at the great reviews. When I first came on and saw the overall score I thought I was on the wrong page but alas, I wasn't.

Thankfully it's on Hulu now and you don't have to waste money on it but it does suck your time. So read a good book and have it on in the background until the last 10 minutes before you pay attention fully.

I had not heard one thing about this movie.

I'd already seen Oppenheimer, Barbie, Mission: Impossible, and Sound of Freedom, so on a whim, I booked myself a double feature in a cool theatre on this hot summer day.

First up - another movie I knew nothing about: Shortcomings. An enjoyable R-rated movie.

Next: Theater Camp. I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into when it started, but Searchlight movies tend to be bring me joy in a variety of ways. Theater Camp did not disappoint. There were some great laughs, great performances (I never cease to be amazed by how much talent kids of all ages and sizes can have!!), and a great ending.

Theater Camp should be on your radar to go see. Enjoy!

At one point I said aloud, "Are they making up this dialog as they go along?" Then I read in the trivia that yes they did.

Did they also make up the plot as they went along?

Absolutely terrible film filled with annoying characters (adult and juvenile) and painfully bad dialog.

Co-written by and starring Broadway darling Ben Platt, he plays a co-head of a theater camp in the Adirondacks that is in danger of being taken over by a neighboring camp. His female co-head (Molly Gordon who also co-directed this mess) make up the camp's "show" as the summer goes along. The camp is filled with those annoying professional children who break into show tunes at the drop of a hat.

Truly bad.

Some of you may remember the movie Camp from 2003. That was the original independent film about a theater camp which featured a young Anna Kendrick, had great music, and characters you cared about.

Then we have Waiting for Guffman, one of the original mocumentaries, about an overly enthusiastic community theater group. That film is a classic filled with laugh out loud moments, great writing, and an incredible cast of comedic actors.

Theater Camp doesn't compare to either of these unfortunately. At this point, the whole mocumentary thing is stale. The film also appears to make fun of its characters more than celebrate them for their quirkiness. There are too many characters to really care about anyone and a curious lack of music for a film about theater. I did enjoy the final number but it seemed to come out of nowhere.

I thought the addition of Ben Platt would add some gravitas to the film. It doesn't. His character is an ass and Ben seems to have forgotten that he is acting in a comedy.

I laughed a few times but not nearly as much as the trailer would have you think. I was looking forward to seeing Amy Sedaris, but her character meets an unfortunate fate and she disappears from the film early on.

This barely gets a 5 from me. Save some money and just go watch or rewatch one of the films mentioned above.