There's no business like show business, and no group more self-flagellating than theater geeks, as Theater Camp so cheekily discovers. The Sundance Film Festival selection was quickly snapped up by Searchlight Pictures for a cool $8 million, which should serve as a testament to its entertainment value. Directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, who collaborated on the script with star Ben Platt and his partner Noah Galvin, the film was clearly crafted by artists with a strong investment in stage performance. Theater Camp won't be for everyone, but thespians and drama geeks will find themselves right at home, and even laymen may find more than a few laughs.
Platt plays Amos, "a performer who is a full-time acting teacher" and one among many characters inexplicably dedicated their lives to the Adirond-ACTS summer camp for Broadway hopefuls. Rather than encourage and inspire, however, each teacher in Theater Camp seems determined to either squash their students' dreams or provide entirely unhelpful instruction such as, "a little more stepfather." This year, they're in more of a pickle than ever when their founder Joan (Amy Sedaris, making the most of her few moments onscreen) falls into a coma without having raised the necessary funds for the summer.
Theater Camp's plot, for what it's worth, kicks in when Joan's Tiktok-famous crypto-loving son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) is left in charge of the Adirond-ACTS despite knowing nothing about the business. But he does know plenty about showmanship, and the film mines more than its fair share of humor out of his grand attempts to fundraise before the bank forecloses on them. His heart is clearly in the right place, which is ironic in a world where adults are more likely to cut a kid down in the name of art than build them back up. That's the secret to Theater Camp's success: However vicious the humor gets, the spirit of the story is not mean.
Unlike plenty of self-congratulatory films about Hollywood, Theater Camp knows how to balance parody and praise. Despite a parade of unqualified instructors (The Bear's Ayo Edebiri, in particular, has a hilarious side plot about teaching stage combat without knowing what it is), the kids at summer camp are evolving thanks to their own sincere efforts and their sense of community. Sadly, not many of the campers get much solo spotlight, but Alan Kim (Minari) deserves a shout-out for his role as a wannabe manager who can get bossier than the teachers. The camp's project for the season is Joan, Still, a biographical musical about Joan's life, which is both a mish-mash of tortured artist tropes and a touching tribute to their fearless leader. It serves as a microcosm for the film itself, which laughs at its own expense but always picks itself back up.
Originally an 18-minute short film written by the same four creators, Theater Camp does sometimes feel like it's going in circles. Not only is the plot rather thin, but the script allows for plenty of improvisation that can at times be hit-or-miss. The more one knows about life on the stage, the more likely they are to giggle at all the references, but some moments can feel far too technical for the impartial observer. Rebecca-Diane (Gordon, pulling triple duty) and her friendship with Amos might be the hardest part of the plot to stomach, simply because they're so clearly toxic for each other in a way that would stall a lesser film. Their performances do much to soften the blows they deal each other, but it's still hard to imagine they're not better off out of each other's lives.
Nevertheless, Theater Camp keeps viewers rooting for the adults to get it together — at least for the kids if not for themselves. And while focusing more on said children might have made for a sweeter story overall, their sense of accomplishment over a job well done is still infectious and heartwarming. Theater Camp may not end up on any greatest metatheatrical films of all time list, but it's sure to become a cult classic that drama club kids will watch at get-togethers and wrap parties.
Theater Camp premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 21. The film is 94 minutes long and is not yet rated.