In the same way the movie Best In Show lampooned the world of dog shows, Theater Camp drops the truth bombs on the world of Summer acting camps. Any budding thespian that has trodden the boards will recognise multiple characters from the rogue’s gallery presented here.
Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris) and Rita Cohen (Caroline Aaron) run a theatre camp in upstate New York that has seen better days. Joan falls into a comp after an epileptic fit brought on by blinking stage lights. The camp them falls under the stewardship of Joan’s dropkick of a son Troy (Jimmy Tatro).
Troy’s continual cluelessness is played for laughs as is his inept interaction with social media. Elsewhere the camp’s main creative couple Amos Klobuchar (Ben Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) are squabbling over creative control and rampant egotism. The children in the camp and their parents are mostly left alone.
Even though this is an American production the humour in this film is less obvious and more ironic than most comic fare that comes from the States. It’s a welcome change of pace and one that should resonate more with adults than their young offspring.
Rob Hudson
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