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.

Set in the summer of 1981 this film follows the fortunes of campers and camp supervisors on the last day of camp at Camp Firewood.

Some of the dialog truly is laugh out loud funny, yet some parts - like talking vegetable cans and NASA equipment falling from space is just plain weird.

There is also a rather disturbing edge to this film too - like a rather out of context gay sex scene, a child drowning while two camp supervisors "get it on", heavy drug use in one particular scene and a rather suggestive element of supervisor/camper relations....

Its certainly unique and will probably leave you scratching your head afterwards asking yourself "what the ****????"

I have read all of the on-line reviews of this movie and I don't understand what all the fuss is about. I mean, I'm from Philadelphia, and Wet Hot American Summer was just about the worst movie I've seen all year. If this is supposed to be satire, it falls flat. If this is supposed to be absurdity, it's pretty banal. Looking at this movie from 1000 different angles, I see 1000 bad movies, and I don't want to hear "you just don't get it." That is a lazy defense of a comedy. Try giving reasons, evidence, support for your claims. You know, the essence of an argument. I don't know, I don't really care anyways. Just forget it.

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

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.