Theater Camp has it's share of inspirational and comedic moments, but can fall short if you've never been involved in this world. Theater Camp is now available at digital retailers, with all-new exclusive bonus features.
”In this original comedy, two best friends are drama instructors at a crumbling theater camp. When a clueless tech-bro arrives to run the property — into the ground — the staff and young students unite for the ultimate show to save their beloved camp.”
For those that have attended a summer camp, it can bring back some very fond and fun memories as a kid: away from home, involved in countless activities, and bonds you create that can last the rest of your lives. If Theater Camp is a success at one thing, it is definitely bringing those types of memories back to the surface, even if you’ve never attended a specific type of specialty camp as this one portrays.
Theater Camp is told in a documentary style method, following the camp creator and director Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris) on a mission to recruit children to attend their camp for the upcoming summer season, while on the lookout for potential fundraising opportunities as well. During the viewing of one particular production while scouting, she suffers an epileptic seizure and falls into a coma. The camp already in financial troubles, her son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) who knows nothing about theater, let alone running a camp, takes control in an attempt to steer the ship as it were, until his mother can recover.
What the film does best is accentuate the differences between a theater camp and the traditional summer camp, often in very funny ways. If you’ve attended something similar or been involved in theater in any way, this film will speak to you in ways that it simply cannot for those who haven’t. While it’s easy to appreciate those eccentricities you’ll see in the instruction and performances of the teachers and students in the camp, for me, there was a bit of a disconnect at times, possibly, and unfairly, comparing the film to other summer camp comedies that I know and love. Despite this, the story has some genuinely heartfelt moments, especially with the kids who are striving to reach their full potential and realize their dreams. In that aspect, it can be truly inspirational and entertaining to watch.
It’s hard to categorize the film in any one particular genre, and I felt that is what limits the film in what it achieved. The documentary-style only really serves as an excuse to follow people with no real connecting story between the sequences, and felt it was done this way more out of convenience than anything. What backstory there is for the characters, namely Amos and Rebecca-Diane, is fairly predictable and doesn’t lend much to the overall core of the story. Also, while the ‘tech-bro’ character type is entirely out of place in a theater camp, there is only so much you can do to make that funny, and it gets old pretty fast. Still, by the end of the film, I was entirely invested in the final production and the conclusion to the story.
Original stories are rare these days it seems, and finding the right audience can be difficult. Theater Camp knows its audience and for those who can identify with finding a place to fit in with like-minded people, this film speaks loud and clear. I think there was a lot of missed opportunities, but still managed to be entertained, especially by the ending. We received a digital copy of the film to review, and with this not receiving a physical copy, digital is the only way to view it. This is available now on Hulu to view, and other Digital retailers. Purchasing the film digitally will also allow you access to quite a bit of bonus features, something not available for streaming the film. These include:
- Featurette: Side by Side: A Theater Camp Chat
- Deleted Scenes
- Extended Scenes
- Talent Showcase Reels
- Outtakes