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To watch Theater Camp as a theater kid is Artis Gags prank eroticeto feel seen and lovingly attacked at the same time. That's because the film — a charming mockumentary from co-directors Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman — pinpoints the exact combination of earnest excitement and ruthless ambition that comes with theater kid-dom.

It's the kind of specificity that can only come from theater kids themselves, so it's not surprising that Gordon, Lieberman, and their co-writers Ben Platt and Noah Galvin all fall into that category. All four have a deep love for theater, and it shows in the film: An opening montage of home video footage features various children acting in musicals, including members of Theater Camp's creative team back when they were pint-sized performers.

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That love for and deep knowledge of theater is what drives Theater Camp. It's a classic underdog story about misfits finding a place where they fit in. And while you've definitely seen some of these plot points before — yes, they'll have to put on a big show to save the camp — the sheer theater kid energy of it all lifts Theater Camp out of cliché and into delightful, heartfelt comedy. Whether you've been to a theater camp, acted in a school play or two, or belted along to musical soundtracks whenever you can, you'll find something to love in Theater Camp.

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What's Theater Camp about?

Ben Platt and Molly Gordon in "Theater Camp." Credit: Searchlight Pictures

Theater Camp transports us to AdirondACTS, a rundown camp in upstate New York for aspiring young triple threats. Our documentary crew (always unseen, apart from the occasional explanatory title card) is initially following camp director Joan (Amy Sedaris). However, when a strobe light-related accident puts her in a coma, her entrepreneurial son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) takes the reins at AdirondACTS. He's a business bro who doesn't know his Schwartz from his Sondheim, and he quickly discovers he's way out of his depth. For one, the camp is dealing with heaps of financial woes, as well as a wealthy rival camp that turns kids into hedge fund managers. But the show must go on, and it's up to Troy and the wildly eccentric staff to band together and save the camp.

That staff includes theater director Amos (Platt), music director Rebecca-Diane (Gordon), and production manager Glenn (Galvin). We also meet choreographer Clive (Nathan Lee Graham), costume designer Gigi (Owen Thiele), and new teacher Janet (Ayo Edebiri), who lied on her resume and has no clue what she's doing. Apart from Troy, Theater Camp spends most of its time with Amos, Rebecca-Diane, and Glenn, and although their central stories remain compelling, I do wish the film had taken the time to give Clive, Gigi, and Janet more fleshed-out arcs.

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As Amos and Rebecca-Diane tell it, they're artistic soulmates with a passion for teaching instead of performing. Every year, they write an original musical for campers to perform. This year's piece is an ode to Joan, titled Joan, Still. There's only one catch — they haven't fully written it yet. Tense rehearsals, missed counselor bonding traditions, and more fray at their friendship over the course of the movie, to the point that it just might snap. Meanwhile, Glenn and his army of under-appreciated techies work to keep the shows afloat, all while Glenn also juggles Troy's misguided ideas to bring a little extra cashflow to the camp.

These storylines play out through improvised scenes, all interspersed with comedic vignettes of rehearsals or campers interacting in their spare time. Theater Camp's mockumentary style forgoes talking heads, instead relying more on handheld camera movements for a cinema vérité-type feel. That realism is further augmented by the cast's committed performances and laugh-out-loud lines that I know for a fact that I've either heard (or said myself) in rehearsals leading up to a high school show. Anything from complaining "That's not what my character would do!" to techies getting tired of actors' antics is on the table.

Theater Camp's superpower is its theater kid energy.

The ensemble of "Theater Camp." Credit: Searchlight Pictures

A lesser film would punch down at its theater-loving ensemble. But with Theater Camp, we're laughing less at the theater kids and more at how easy it is to recognize the tropes the film plays up in all of us. Don't we all have great passions and dreams? Don't we all hope to do something great? Theater Camp's characters are just way, way more up front about it. They're earnest, eager, and willing to put their bodies on the line for their art, no matter if it's a Broadway show or a summer camp production of Cats.

Between each pratfall or winking joke about Bob Fosse, Theater Camp also makes sure to enforce just how important AdirondACTS is to its attendees and its staff. The film imbues the proceedings of camp with an almost ritualistic quality, from a séance-inspired sequence where the counselors cast the session's shows to the campers' madcap dash to read the cast lists. It's not long before an outsider like Troy realizes what AdirondACTS means to people, and just how much they need it.

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Of course, all this glorious theatrical goodness leads up to a show-stopping performance: one that's full of emotional payoff, bopping dance numbers, and extra talented young actors. The rest of the ending is somewhat abrupt, but it's hard to complain when you get something as surreal as kids performing a Studio 54-inspired disco groove.

"We're theater people. We know how to turn cardboard into gold," Glenn tells Troy during a pivotal moment. And the same feels true of Theater Camp, which takes a familiar-feeling premise and delivers a sweet, scrappy crowdpleaser that reminds us just how damn great theater is, setbacks and all.

Theater Camp is now in theaters.

Topics Film