Summer Camp packs a mixed bag
Theatrical Movie Review - Comedy
Growing up, I went to sleep-away camp every summer. The last week in July, I would pack my suitcase too full and head to an old barn for a week of music, swimming, weird awards, and surprisingly good food. We would stay up too late talking and then wake up too early so we could try to get a warm shower. It was exhausting and dirty and one of my favorite parts of every summer. I hoped that sense of wonder would be recaptured in Castille Landon’s film Summer Camp.
Ginny (Kathy Bates), Nora (Diane Keating), and Mary (Alfre Woodard) met at a summer camp when they were kids. Despite plans to do everything together as they became adults, the three women drifted apart. When there is an opportunity for a reunion at the camp, the three take the opportunity to reconnect. While there, they meet up with former camp crushes Stevie D (Eugene Levy) and Tommy (Dennis Haysbert), as well as camp nemesis Jane (Beverly D’Angelo). While there, the three friends must confront the issues that caused them to drift apart, as well as the problems that have kept them from living their best lives.
This movie was a bit uneven throughout. Although it is billed as a comedy, the comedic parts felt hackneyed and outdated. Where this movie shone was when it got serious and introspective. There were a number of moments, particularly between the friends, when they started to examine some aspects of their lives that were holding them back from true happiness, that were truly beautiful. I think if the film had focused on that, it would have been something special.
All of the performances in this movie are fine. There are no career bests from Bates, Keaton, or Woodard, but they all seem to have fun. Woodard is the standout of the three, as her story has the best arc. Levy and Haysbert also turn in perfectly serviceable performances, adding some additional perspective to various scenes throughout the movie.
But this movie is about summer camp, so despite some genuinely poignant scenes, the audience is also subjected to all of the silly camp tropes. So we have an over-enthusiastic camp counselor. We have a staff member who isn’t good at anything, so he shows up in every scene to show how inept he is. We have a giant food fight. Any of these might have worked, but because it’s interspersed with deep conversations about losing a spouse and filling the void with work or allowing success to be a form of avoidance or putting aside your hopes and ambitions for everyone else, they feel more absurd and out of place.
Overall, there are aspects of this movie that really work. Landon is much younger than the characters that she wrote, but she managed to capture the voice of these characters with an authenticity that surprised me. Summer Camp may fail as a comedy, but it succeeds as a reminder of the power of life-long friendship to change lives.
Check out my interview with Summer Camp writer and director Castille Landon.
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on June 2, 2024.