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Directed by: Todd Graff Starring: Daniel Letterle, Joanna Chilcoat, Robin de Jesus, Don Dixon Starz has been showing this movie quite a lot this past week, and I caught it late one night, and really enjoyed it. CAMP follows a group of teens at Camp Ovation, a summer theatre/musical camp in the Catskills. A good number of the guys there are gay, as can be expected I suppose. There are three main characters. Vlad (played by Letterle) is a new-comer and appears to be straight. He plays the guitar, sings and wants to act. Ellen (played by Chilcoat) is a returning camper and is friends with Michael (de Jesus). Michael had recently worn a dress to his junior prom, got beaten up for it and ran away to live with his sister after his parents weren't very sympathetic. Bert Hanley (played by Dixon) is a washed up musical writer who had a one-hit wonder years ago, but has faded into alcoholism since then. He takes a job at the camp to teach. The movie follows these characters as they learn how to act and sing at camp, and interact with each other and the other campers. It's also billed as a comedy, and does have its comedic moments. To be honest, the acting and script aren't really all that fantastic and are somewhat cheesy, but the real draw for this movie is the musical numbers. There's a song written by Hanley called Century Plant which is really awesome. If you're a fan of musicals or indie films about wierdo teenagers, you'll enjoy the film. If you've got Starz, check it out as it's playing like 5 times a day or something. RATING: 4 PROS: Great musical numbers, funny, good look at camp life CONS: Inexperienced directing, somewhat crappy plot, acting isn't fantastic ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0342167
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Jan 7, 2005 07:58
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 21:57 |
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I've wanted to start this thread ten million times, but never got around to it. I love this movie. There's some teen-love-triangle dreck that isn't that entertaining, but a lot of the plot's pretty good, especially a subplot about a drama queen and her obsessively subservient toadie, and there are some really funny lines. There are a few scenes that stand out for their humor value (like the South American director expressing his frustration that the spoiled little suburbanite kids can't adequately express the existential angst in one script), but what makes the movie is the music, definitely. I drove everyone I know crazy singing "Turkey-Lurkey Time" to myself in the long months before the DVD release. The kids do an awesome job. 4.5/5
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Jan 7, 2005 18:29
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Being a complete musical theater geek, this move was right up my alley. I already knew most of the musical numbers before seeing the movie, and the kids performing them did a pretty good job. I give it a 3.5, some of the acting was less than stellar (the kids were primarily musicians, not actors) and the love triangle and alcoholic director stories got a little too schmaltzy at times. I did love the slutty drama queen and her toadie who ended up turning on her. The performance of Ladies Who Lunch is the highlight for me. Oh, and the gay kids going crazy when Sondheim comes to visit was great.
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Jan 7, 2005 21:00
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Back in the summer of 2003, I attended the camp this was filmed at (Stagedoor Manor), and whilst I was there, the heads of the camp thought it would be a great idea to have the premiere in the town of Liberty (where the camp is) with Todd Graff and most of the cast. And, hey, why not get the scamps attending this session to sing, too? I felt like such a horrible person after seeing this movie, because I genuinely did not like one second of it. The plot follows a womanizing teen (Vlad) and his gay roommate (Mike) and some other people around their summer at an acting camp, Camp Ovation. It's run by your typical genius-but-now-alcoholic musical writer, and you have all of your stereotypical kids: The playboy, the lead girl, the bitch, the mousey smart chick, the gay guy, and Stephen Sondheim. The plot is laughably bad, the musical numbers seemed forced, and nothing tied up in the end. For example, Mike's parents hate him because he's gay, but then at the end of the movie when they say they're gonna see his play, they decide not to? And they still hate him? What the gently caress? Also, Vlad kissed, if my count is correct, EVERYONE, so why did that girl forgive him in the end? Some of these things don't make sense. At least the cast was really nice (Vlad and the main girl ate dinner at my table). But that's about the only thing good I can say about this horrid, horrid movie. BONUS! In the beginning, when Mike is being beaten up at prom, the fat kid is my friend Louis. RATING: 0.5/5
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Jan 8, 2005 06:05
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painful and drawn out. cheesy. 1/5
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Jan 23, 2005 13:29
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