Sundance Movie Review: 'Theater Camp' Is Loving, Laughfilled Ode To Drama
Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Theater Camp , which debuted Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival, pokes fun at common stereotypes of the theater community. It's made by theater people, so it's made with love.
The documentary follows the AdirondACTS summer camp crew. Founder Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris) is left in a coma from a flashlight accident, so her son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) steps in.
Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) and Amos (Ben Platt) are music theory and acting teachers respectively. They are also writing an original play based on John's life for the students to perform at the end of the camp.
If you're looking for entertainment that takes adults very seriously, Theater Camp is comedy gold. The intensity and investment of these avant-garde workouts would be unbearable in real life, but T Hitter Camp balances it out with some loving humor and a little faith in the process.
Children act out many adult drama scenes and teachers encourage them. Vocal exercises make Al Gore and Wolf Blitzer tongue twisters.
There are very talented young actors playing the campers, but they don't portray the characters as clearly as the teachers. Unfortunately, with such a large ensemble, Theater Camp doesn't focus on the central student, so the kids have to settle for stealing a scene or two.
Teachers are completely humbled as they find their place in the world at camp and beyond. New teacher Janet (Ayo Edebiri) talks about the toxic nature of Rebecca-Diene and Amos, and the veteran couple must deal with their tangled relationship by the end of the film.
Before falling into a coma, Joan is clear that the camp must raise funds for the summer, an annual process. During Troy, the camp had failed and was weeks away from foreclosure, and an investment company was interested in buying the camp to destroy it.
So the game becomes Show Camps to Save the AdirondACTS. The original score, written by Gordon, Platt, and co-writers Noah Galvin, Nick Lieberman, and Mark Sonnenblick, is also great and fun. It will make a great soundtrack with covers of songs from popular children's shows.
Theater Camp is easy access to Sundance. It gives serious consideration to a palette cleanser and can serve the same purpose when left out.
Fred Topel, who attended Ithaca College's film school, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012. Read more about his work in entertainment.
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