Movie Review

Camp

Though it starts off as a lame chick flick in its first few minutes, Camp soon graduates as a funny and addicting comedy; even with its PG-13 rating, the film is nearly as good as American Pie.

Distributed by IFC Films, Camp is an independent low budget movie starring a pack of unknown actors, along with a first-time writer/director. Despite the amateur status the project obtains on paper, Camp rises above mediocrity to become a film with well-built characters, actors who?ve defined the roles, and a script that even allows the clich?s to feel fresh, with enough laughs and heart to fulfill a night.
The film surrounds young and talented singers/musicians who go off and away to Camp Ovation, a resort that?ll propel adolescents onto the stage and give them experience in front of an audience. The camp counselor, Bert Hanley ? a one-time hit play-writer, is a drunk and pessimistic figure, thus placing tension between he and his fellow adolescent members.

The way the film unfolds is much in the same style as venturing off to a camp itself ? we get to watch young kids take the bus ride in to the resort, getting to know them little by little, and once arrived we spend nearly every scene with various members. Part of what makes the film a beauty is the realistic perspective writer/director Todd Graff supplies, as the student-to-student encounters take on a very natural and believable form, with some members creating friendships while others create hostile environments with other students.

From the beginning stages of the film, we as the audience are pretty well aware of what kids we?ll be rooting for (or at least admiring) and which kids we?ll wish to see jump off a cliff at the finale. This device, while a bit clich?, is effective, as our attachment will gradually grow with some kids while our hatred or annoyance will strengthen with others; for the story, these are the precise emotions needed.

Camp doesn?t follow an official premise, as much of the film revolves around the daily practices of the musicals and the relationships that form between student members. For a nearly two-hour film, this is a risky minimalist production but it thankfully takes use of the utensils at hand. The script is not written as family-friendly in nature as it could have been, as there are indeed cute devices thrown in but the film does take riskier and bolder moves in comedy, satisfying those in the audience not in the mood for purely expected cutesy touches.

The issues raised in the film are not that original, but are handled quite well and better than the average identity clich?s filmmakers often bring to the screen. It?s a part social commentary and part coming-of-age tale that discusses matters we?ve seen tackled previously, yet the intelligent execution brings on a very welcoming sensation.

Camp doesn?t make the audience want to clap or cheer in favor of the musicals like School of Rock (B) accomplishes, but here, it?s more about the connection between the viewer and the character than the viewer and the music. Camp doesn?t necessarily showcase the music as much as Rock does, as most of the time we are (in a sense) socializing with the kids and getting to know who they are, enjoying their presence in the process (or at least some of them).

Much of the humor comes from the natural behavior of the students, with bits and pieces from the camp staff themselves. There?s a touch of the Meatballs (B-) attitude thrown in, but Camp?s tone doesn't bring itself to as goofball of a level. The film is somewhat serious in its matters, but never too serious, as Graff allows an adequate amount of humor to flow, with a few gags forcing me to control my laughter.


Camp shows some constraint in material with its low budget, but nevertheless works as a successful crowd pleaser that?ll likely please several demographics. I, for one, am not always kind to certain movies that attempt to win over everyone at all costs, but Camp plays its strings correctly, never crossing the limit in the cute territory and allowing some of its more serious topics to be handled with brains rather than sentimentality.

Like a good comedy, its hope is to please those in the audience with a sense of humor regardless of age; it succeeds in that field, and after the movie is over you might even want to see these people back for the next camp.

Lee's Grade: B-
Ranked #42 of 132 between The Hunted (#41) and Once Upon...Mexico (#43) for 2003 movies.

A	0.4%
B	30.0%
C	61.7%
D	8.0%
F	0.0%