Wet Hot American Summer

It's the last day of Camp Firewood 1981 in Maine. Camp director Beth (Janeane Garofalo) is interested in physics professor Henry Newman (David Hyde Pierce) who lives nearby. Gene (Christopher Meloni) is the volatile Vietnam vet cook. Susie (Amy Poehler) and Ben (Bradley Cooper) intends to put on a show. Andy (Paul Rudd) is the bad boy making out with Katie (Marguerite Moreau). Gail von Kleinenstein (Molly Shannon) is the art teacher struggling with her divorce. Victor (Ken Marino) is a bumbling womanizer wannabe. McKinley (Michael Ian Black) is in a secret relationship with Ben. None of the camp counselors are terribly concerned about the kids' safety as craziness runs rampant.

This is a scattered parody filled with random crazy characters and ridiculous situations. I first saw this a couple of years ago. The cast is a who's who of today's hottest stars. They seem to be having crazy fun doing silly skits. It's definitely a hit and miss proposition. It misses more than it hits but it misses with a charming stupidity.

This movie made me so happy. The performers are so gifted. The details in the art direction and characterizations were pretty spot-on too. Amy Poehler in particular delighted me. That girl rocks my world. Everyone has their moment though. In this time when parodies are almost more common than original ideas, this movie stands out as one of the best.

Put simply, upon release in 2001, Wet Hot American Summer was a disaster.

Ignored by most critics, failing dismally at the box office and genuinely disappearing from many peoples radars, David Wain's 80's spoof comedy seemed like just another low-brow comedy destined for an unmemorable life, until low and behold, the cult circuit took over and Summer has become somewhat of a classic.

Spawning a prequel and sequel series on streaming kingpin Netflix, Summer's reputation has grown over recent years thanks to the airplay its received from people's lounge-rooms and for the fact Wain's film is a hotbed of early career activity for some Hollywood's biggest players.

Early career turns from the likes of Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, Amy Poehler, Joe Lo Truglio and Ken Marino as well as extended parts from established stars Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Christopher Meloni and Molly Shannon, Summer has one of the early 2000's greatest ensemble casts that helps make watching Summer in today's climate a genuine blast no matter what flaws the films has.

As a film, there's a lot wrong with Summer, it has a bare bones story cut straight out of the Richard Linklater rule-book (think Dazed and Confused and Everybody Wants Some!! with less nuance) and a fair chunk of jokes fall relatively flat but thanks to its carefree charm and the natural charisma of its cast, much of Summer is an easy to digest joy.

The dark sense of humor of Wain such as drowning children, crazed Vietnam war veterans with odd fetishes and a continual gag about a particularly long day timed with a frequent clock also help make Summer a black comedic delight, a comedy not afraid to go to some dark places even if its relatively non-existent story doesn't bother to delve deep into much else around its low-brow antics and end of summer camp activities such as a talent show or an odd game of capture the flag.

The haphazard nature of the film and oddball happenings are the likely reason Summer has managed to overcome its early failures to achieve a long-lasting success and while it's by no means a cinematic masterpiece, it's hard to see how one wouldn't enjoy their time in Camp Firewood with a crazy collection of flawed yet lovable counselors.

Final Say -

A time-capsule of early career moments for a raft of well-liked stars and an entertaining throwback to the heyday of raunchy 80's comedies, Wet Hot American Summer is far from a masterpiece but a thoroughly fun and frivolous one of a kind romp regardless.

3 cans of mixed vegetables out of 5

"Wet Hot American Summer" is an overlooked comic gem and an absurdest spoof of those god-awful summer camp movies from the 1980's. If you enjoy "Monty Python" style sketch humor or were a fan of "The State" (many of the players are employed here) or "Kids in the Hall," then this is the ticket for you. People who enjoy humor more in line with the Farelly Brothers or the "American Pie" films probably just won't "get this." It's all a matter of taste and your sense of humor. But seriously, how can you go wrong with a movie that has a pep talk from a talking can of vegetables or an overly dramatic chase scene where the person doing the chasing is thwarted by a single barrel of hay in the middle of a wide open road? My personal favorite is when the guy is driving the van singing along to "Danny's Song" and then out of nowhere screams bloody murder as he slams into a tree. Oh, and who can forget the hilariously rapid decent into the underworld of drugs and despair by the kids spending an hour away from camp in town? This is also a must see for people who appreciate Janeane Garafalo's comic timing and Molly Shannon's bizarre brand of humor. This film was grossly overlooked when it hit theaters, but I think there is a cult following waiting for this movie. I hope these people are allowed to collaborate on another comedy. If they are, then we may have a new dawn of "Monty Python" style humor infecting the barbarian hordes.

Wet Hot American Summer is the kind of movie where you either get it or you don't. If you do, you're good. If you don't, you are the red-headed step child among your friends and are subject to ridicule because you didn't laugh all that much. I have to say I'm in that category, but I appreciated what the film was doing. It was trying to be a different movie for a certain crowd. It succeeds in being different, but not much else.

I think that this film is appreciated by people who also worship The Big Lebowski and the new comedy Our Idiot Brother, also starring Paul Rudd. They have a certain quotable reputation and are filled with so many random and oddball scenes that they soon get the cult classic status. I did like The Big Lebowski, but didn't see much hope in a rewatch because of the humor only being truly hilarious one time around. Some have said that Wet Hot American Summer gets better with repeated viewings. I don't think I'll stick around to find out.

The story is just thrown together with odds, ends, and characters. Everything is thrown against the wall and the characters wander aimlessly throughout the camp hoping to be hit on the end with some comical elements. We're at Camp Firewood, a Jewish summer camp, and this is the last day of the summer. Everyone is scrambling to find someone of the opposite sex, or same sex, to be with so they can share a kiss at the end of the summer talent show.

The characters are has shallow as the no diving end at a pool. We have Beth (Garofalo), the camp director. Henry (Pierce), an astrophysicist. Coop (Showalter) who has a crush on Katie (Moreau), but unfortunately for him, Katie's boyfriend is the ungrateful, incompetent, ignoramus Andy (Rudd). Gene (Meloni), the Vietnam vet. And way more.

Director David Wain is known for his odd style as he's written and directed Cartoon Network shows like Children's Hospital and Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job. So he does tackle a semi-original idea here. Too bad it's gone to waste. There's one scene where two boys discover their best friend is gay, and rather than taking it in a mature manner, writer Michael Showalter seems to be laughing while writing making the scene unnecessary and tasteless.

For some reason, I've never liked the idea of a summer camp setting in a comedy. It's rarely taken in a fresh manner, and it always results in the same jokes again and again. Some horror movies, like Friday the 13th work because they are in a camp, at night, giving a creepy vibe to an already uneasy setting. In comedies that use the setting, it seems that every film is just random antics, with no rhyme or reason, filled with incompetent camp counselors and teenagers fueled by raging hormones and immaturity.

The characters are drawn and made to be likable, but they are nothing but walking mannequins motivated by personal satisfaction, lust, ego, and hormones. Many of us are, but it rarely do these things make a good, likable film. If the film had been more about finding your inner self and more a coming of age story rather than just be a comedy run by the characters' ridiculous antics it probably could've been more inspiring and more entertaining.

The acting and directing doesn't kill the film has much as the events and characters do. Wet Hot American Summer isn't horrible, but it's repetitive and predictable. What I found wrong may be what someone else finds perfectly fine. The legion of fans will have to accept my review and move on. For every one person who doesn't like this there are half a dozen more who do.

Starring: Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Michael Showalter. Directed by: David Wain.