Theater Camp

Theater Camp

After the indomitable and beloved founder of a scrappy theater camp in upstate New York falls into a coma, the eccentric staff must band together with her clueless "crypto-bro" son to keep the thespian paradise afloat.

  • Released: 2023-07-14
  • Runtime: 93 minutes
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Stars: Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, Amy Sedaris, Patti Harrison, Jimmy Tatro, Caroline Aaron, Luke Islam, Nathan Lee Graham, Kyndra Sanchez, Dean Scott Vazquez, Alan Kim, Jonathan Lengel, Donovan Colan, Owen Thiele, Tyrone Mitchell Henderson, Alexander Bello, Quinn Titcomb, Bailee Bonick, Madisen Lora, Vivienne Sachs
  • Director: Nick Lieberman, Molly Gordon
 Comments
  • masonsaul - 3 February 2024
    Great combination of cynicism and heart
    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.
  • masonfisk - 9 October 2023
    CAMP REDUX...?
    From earlier this year comes this comedy which takes place at a performing arts camp. Focusing on the tumultuous summer season after the owner, Amy Sedaris, has a stroke & falls into a coma prompting her ne'er-do-well son, Jimmy Tatro, to come in to run things who finds out the camp itself is in arrears & the neighboring establishment wants to make moves, personified by their rep, Patti Harrison & maybe buy the troubled company for a song. In the midst of all this, the young attendees have to deal w/the mercurial flightiness of the teaching staff (Molly Gordon & Ben Platt's platonic drama teachers, Ayo Edebiri's newly minted combat advisor & Noah Galvin, a stagehand w/delusions of being a dancer) which reaches epic, ridiculous proportions when they mount a musical based on Sedaris' life. A lot of fun since camps like this actually exist w/my only niggling critique being a film named Camp, made 20 years ago by writer/director Todd Graff (an actor who actually went to one of these places in Upstate New York) came out first which makes this film diverting but not necessarily groundbreaking. Also starring Caroline Aaron as the camp manager, David Rasche as a potential investor & Nathan Lee Graham as the dance instructor (he played Will Ferrell's right hand man in Zoolander).
  • Mr-Topshotta - 22 September 2023
    "THEATER CAMP" REVIEW
    Co-directed/Co-written and Co-starred by Molly Gordon. With Nick Lieberman Co-directing and writing. A runtime of one hour and thirty-two minutes. Streaming on Hulu with a PG-13 rating.

    "Joan Rubinsky" played by Amy Sedaris runs a rundown summer theatre camp. It's only rundown in appearance though. It's full of life. With amazing young talented kids that eat, breathe, and poop theatre.

    But this summer things are different. "Joan" had a medical issue causing her to go into a coma. Now her son "Troy" played by Jimmy Tatro is trying to run things. He still has his amazing group of counselors like "Amos" played by Ben Platt, his best friend "Rebecca-Diane" played by Molly Gordon, "Clive" played by Nathan Lee Graham and newcomer "Janet" played by Ayo Edebiri.

    But even with them "Troy" will see it's much harder to run and keep them afloat. On top of the counselors having their internal drama. You have a bunch of eccentric kids who don't care about any of that and only want to perform.

    All things look to be crashing and burning under "Troy's" Watch. One final performance from these talented campers and the sound guy "Glenn" played by Noah Galvin is that's in the way of the camp's total collapse. In this theatre comedy.

    "Theatre Camp," I thought would be cheesy and not my cup of tea at all. I was shocked to see how much I enjoyed it. They filmed it like the TV show "The Office" in that first-person handy cam type of way. Jimmy Tatro's character "Troy" was hilarious along with the children.

    I picked this film to watch because my daughter eats breaths and craps everything theatre. She was a true theatre kid and is now a theatre adult. Going to college for that very profession.

    I'm not obsessed like my family but some things have stuck throughout the years. Some of these jokes you can only appreciate knowing something about theatre. Regardless I still thought this was funny.

    The kids were spot on and the dry humor only enhanced the film. The way they can poke fun at themselves while still giving you humor that everyone can laugh at and enjoy was great.

    I didn't know what I enjoyed more. Watching the film or seeing my daughter react to everything in the film. This film is funny but if you have anyone in your family obsessed with theatre/musical theatre you will appreciate it even more. I give this film four mor fires 🔥🔥🔥🔥.

    #CosmoandtheMovieWithin #CosmoMovieBlog #CosmoLanier #TheatreCamp.