Theater Camp – Review

Release Date – 25th August 2023, Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 33 minutes, Directors – Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman

A financially struggling theatre camp tries to assemble a production based on the life of its hospitalised founder (Amy Sedaris)

Theater Camp is unashamedly for and by the theatre kids. There’s a self-awareness within the loud personalities on display, and lashings of campiness to go with it. The drive to make the best production possible is on full-display, even if it means absurdly slighting the children in the process – which ten-year-old’s audition best suggested prostitute and who could best convey virgin? This year’s main attraction is the still-being-written Joan, Still, inspired by the life of camp founder Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris).

After falling into a coma at the start of the film, the beloved head of the camp is temporarily replaced by her wannabe-influencer son Troy (Jimmy Tatro). With the place financially struggling he hopes he can save it by bringing in money through his en-Troy-preneurship. While he’s busy with that, the rest of the staff are trying to produce Broadway-level plays and musicals with young aspiring thespians. For much of the mockumentary we see heads of music and drama Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) and Amos (Ben Platt) desperately trying to put Joan, Still together while craving for their dreams of becoming performers to come true.

The pair have worked at the camp for over a decade, almost all of the staff have some form of close connection – and intense passion for their work, not afraid to run an intensive regime. The bond comes through in the performances which convey strong ‘theatre kid energy’ barrelling throughout the film. Co-directors Gordon and Nick Lieberman (who co-writer with Platt and Noah Galvin) make the most of every scene, getting as many laughs as possible out of them, yet still getting effect out of the bursts of drama.

Waiting For Guffman is perhaps an obvious point of reference, however if that film were to focus on Legz Akimbo Theatre Company (the titles of previous main event musicals produced by Amos and Rebecca-Diane are enough to inspire such thoughts) with added lashings of campiness then you’d almost have Theater Camp. Acknowledging the aspirations of the adult characters whilst managing to point out some of strangeness which arises from this. Yet, still within that specific theatre world, well-contained within the colourful bubble of the camp.

Great direction is often hard to notice within a comedy, particularly a mockumentary, but their work shines through in an excellently directed comedy, and one of the funniest mockumentaries for a good few years. It could be so easy for the film with its self-awareness and occasional (presumably) slightly heightened instances and conversations to slip into irony. A key musical number could match the rest and simply reflect the characters bursting into song as their lives revolve around performing and ramping up the flamboyance. Musical flamboyance is certainly still on display but irony is nowhere to be seen. It’s a scene of heart with love for the theatre and those who are passionate about it. There are plenty of laughs to be found within this stretch, but never at those performing.

“We’re theatre people, we know how to turn cardboard into gold” says overworked technician Glenn (Galvin) to Tatro’s increasingly worried Troy. It’s a point which truly comes to life in these final stages where after 70-80 (frequently laugh out loud funny) minutes of showing the intensive lessons the teachers put this summer’s young attendees through there’s a fitting and worthwhile conclusion. One for and by the theatre kids.

One of the funniest mockumentaries for a number of years, Theater Camp is excellently directed with the whole cast and crew getting the most laughs possible from the flamboyance that’s on display. Self-aware but never ironic, this is a very funny celebration of theatrical passion.