Worthy of mention alongside the great mockumentaries of Christopher Guest and company (Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind), Theater Camp drops a fictional documentary crew into a summer camp for theater kids, just after its founder has fallen into a coma, allowing the beloved institution to fall into the hands of her would-be finance-bro son (Jimmy Tatro). Much of the focus falls on a pair of best friends/counselors/frustrated performers played by Ben Platt and Molly Gordon, both of whom are self-laceratingly funny, yet always human. Gordon co-directs with Nick Lieberman; they both contributed to the script alongside Platt and Noah Galvin. As Glenn, the tech coordinator, Galvin also gets the film’s most moving moment. After assuring his students that tech is more than just something you have to do because “dance was full,” Glenn stands on the stage so they can practice with the spotlight. “Can you make it harder?” one bored kid asks, prompting Glenn to burst into a beautiful performance of—you guessed it—dance. (The film then shifts into a lovely montage of other kids and instructors at camp enjoying little moments of theatricality.) There are plenty of big laughs to be found in Theater Camp—Ayo Edibiri pops up to steal a few scenes—but it’s this ability to weave self-deprecation with theatrical passion that distinguishes the movie.
(12/27/2023)
