Wet Hot American Summer

Starring: Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter, Marguerite Moreau, Michael Ian Black, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Bradley Cooper, Zak Orth, A.D. Miles, Christopher Meloni, Molly Shannon, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Amy Poehler, Gideon Jacobs
Directed by: David Wain
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A group of counselors all strive to use their last day at camp wisely before having to leave, break relationships, and give up on summer camp dreams.

Review:

Tim: Wet Hot American Summer is a pretty stupid movie, but that doesn't mean it is not enjoyable. The film does a very good job of lampooning "summer camp" movies, all while managing to be fairly entertaining. I would never consider this a great movie or even a particularly strong one, but it's a decent comedy.

The best aspect of the film is the very impressive cast. Janeane Garofalo is the camp director, and she is pretty good. She has a few humorous scenes with David Hyde Pierce. These two work well together. I liked Michael Showalter, and Maguerite Moreau gives a really, really good performance. I'm always a fan of Michael Ian Black, so it was fun to see him here. Paul Rudd is a bit too over-the-top for me, so I was not a huge fan of his performance. Elizabeth Banks has a small role, but she was certainly memorable in it. Bradley Cooper likewise has a small part, but is fun to watch. I do not like Amy Poehler much, so I was glad Cooper was usually with her during her scenes. Molly Shannon was pretty annoying. Christopher Meloni definitely made me laugh. I really liked A.D. Miles here, and I wish he had more screen time. As a whole, the cast features a lot of up-and-comers, and was really, really fun to watch.

The main appeal of this film is watching a whole host of hijinks around the summer camp. Some of these are hilarious, others are pretty boring. The movie does spoof camp movies quite well, but it also means this film often feels disjointed. There's a lot of different stories to tell, but not all of them are effective. There are some of the usual storylines- guys and girls trying to get together, relationships forming and breaking apart. That's really the heart of the film. There's also the expected "talent show", a humorous twist on the big camp verses camp softball game, and a whole host of other side plots. One of the weakest aspects of the film involved a piece of Skylab possibly heading for a collision course with the camp. I know this was spoofing other films, but there's a reason that storyline never works- it's completely ridiculous. I found that aspect of the story to be quite weak, and it really slowed the movie down for me.

This is definitely not a film that seeks to revolutionize the comedy genre. It's a small, forgettable movie that does manage to be decently entertaining. It's fun to see this huge cast interact together on the last, zany day of camp. It does just enough to keep the audience engaged. While many of the jokes fall flat, enough hit the mark to keep people laughing. Wet Hot American Summer is certainly not a comedy classic, but it's a decent little film that is worth seeing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



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