Camp Movie Review:


Synopsis:

Following a string of dismal Broadway flops, bitter, alcoholic songwriter Bert Hanley takes a job at a musical summer camp for young performers, where he finds inspiration while staging a new production.

Ever watched a movie about a summer Camp that has mainly gay guys and outsider girls singing Stephen Sondheim songs before? Nope me neither. Reason enough to make this a must see.

Camp takes us to a summer stage camp where a straight kid goes for the first time, much to the amazement of the regulars. They’ve never had a straight guy attend before, and this is the centre of the movie, providing most of the jokes and interplay between the characters.

The kids who attend the camp are not your normal kids, and are stuck in a timewarp of the classic age of stage, they stage a different musical every fortnight. One great scene is when the black kids complain about the lack of black roles, with hilarious results.

Danile Letterle plays Vlad, the straight guy, who although looking like a boy band singer much prefers singing Stephen Sondheim songs, while still riding his skateboard. Naturally the gay guys and the girls all fancy him. And the human way we explore the characters of one of the gay guys and one the girls who are both in love with him is what really works well here.

The songs are all delivered with an exuberant flair, with some of them being touching and heartwarming. The scene where one of the girls poisons her enemy to replace her on stage was particularly funny.

Stephen Trask , who provided much of the soundtrack for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, writes much of the original material here, it’s fresh funny and heartwarming.

The movie could easily have dropped into painting the character’s as cliché’s, instead having fund with the characters showing them as human, but always remembering to keep it’s tongue in it’s cheek.

The movie does have it’s flaws though, as after a great start, the middle section of the movie does flag, feels confused and would have benefited from tighter editing.

A great look at a world you may not know, with a joyous romp through musical theatre.

Gary Gray

After writing one hit musical and never been able to recapture that same inspiration Bert Hanley (Dixon) has taken a job at Camp Ovation, an entertainment summer school for teenagers. Vlad (Letterle) was the middle child of five brothers who longed to be noticed and he saw acting as his way of doing that. Ellen (Chilcoat) has absolutely no confidence until she takes to the stage. Michael went to his junior prom in a dress and has escaped to camp after receiving both physical and mental beatings from his schoolmates and family. All of them see the summer camp as their chance to change and start again.

The musical is making a comeback and reality shows are taking over the airwaves. Camp combines the two, giving a cast of unknowns the chance to become stars on a background of musical theatre and social issues.

Like a modern day Kids from Fame but touching on more present day issues than they ever could on 1980s television, Camp is a musical with a massage. Acceptance, social standing, image, sexuality and other teenage issues are all dealt with on a background of musical numbers from 20th century compositions.

The unknown cast are very good during the musical numbers but seem to struggle with the more intimate dialogue driven moments of the film. Daniel Letterle is good as the only straight guy in the camp, Vlad. He is arguably the best actor of the ensemble and the filmmakers have realised this by giving him most of the key scenes. Anna Chilcoat and Robin de Jesus are also good in the more dramatic parts of the movie but come into their own while performing. The rest of the cast seem far more comfortable while singing and performing, especially the teachers. Humour comes from Tiffany Taylor and Anna Kendrick as bitter rivals Jenna and Fritzi who both go to extremes to steal each other’s limelight.

Writer/Director Todd Graff does a good job of mixing drama and comedy with a background of music. The three main leads characters are developed enough to get you to care about them but the supporting cast do seem only to be there for minor subplots and background singing.

Camp goes further than Fame! ever could by dealing with issues that affect the more creative and performance minded teenagers. The songs and numbers are very good and should be enough to keep any musical fan happy but non-fans may struggle to find the story and acting good enough to keep their interest.

Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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