‘Theatre Camp’ movie review: Molly Gordon shines in eccentric comedy gem
In the contemporary world, comedy is a difficult concept to wrestle with, which likely explains the lack of big-budget Hollywood flicks that choose to occupy the genre. Instead, it is up to the independent film circuit to provide the most cutting-edge comedies, with films like Owen Kline’s Funny Pages, Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby and now, Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s extraordinarily funny Theatre Camp.
Sharing similarities to Richard Linklater’s beloved 2003 comedy School of Rock, this directorial debut from Gordon and Lieberman is set in the eccentric world of theatre camp, a space where social outsiders can thrive in happiness, as stated in the film itself. Usually hosted by founder Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris), this particular summer is thrown into disarray when she falls ill and puts her incompetent son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) in charge.
Armed only with a knowledge of ‘tech-bro’ business, Troy leaves the camp in the capable hands of theatre power couple Amos (Ben Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon), who lead a band of eccentric creatives and teachers, all whilst he leaves the financial security of the company in the balance. It’s a simple set-up but one that does adequate justice for the mockumentary at hand, providing the perfect petri dish for comedy to thrive organically.
Comedy flourishes from every frame of Theatre Camp, with every part of the show pulling their weight, whether they’re a background extra or Platt and Gordon, who grab the film by the scruff of its fabulous lapels and fuel it with utter effortless gold. Playing a pair of previous campers who became counsellors and later pillars of the entire institution, the duo are the heart and soul of the movie, with every utterance that comes out of their sarky mouths resulting in at least a belly laugh from the audience.
Penned by Platt, Gordon and Noah Galvin, who each have extensive experience on the stage themselves, Theatre Camp is a love letter to the formative years of performance, gleefully nodding to the plays of Bob Fosse and Andrew Lloyd Webber without any care at all as to whether the viewer understands the reference at all. Where this could alienate some viewers, the screenplay rides a fine line, producing something that is continually vibrant, inclusive and celebratory.
This creates a potent creative voice, with fizzes and crackles with frenetic excitability, making almost each and every word that comes out of the mouths of the cast the kind of memorable line, quip or comment that you’d want to quote time and time again.
A comparison to Linklater’s School of Rock is certainly apt, with the film stuffed with the same amount of kind-hearted emotion and even more comedy than the memorable early 2000s hit. Similarly, filmmakers Gordon and Lieberman control the movie with a familiar attention to pace and tone, with the finale number of “Camp isn’t home…but is it, kind of? Kind of, it is – I think it kind of is” being comparable to the passion and eccentricity of ‘Zach’s Song’.
But, if Theatre Camp taught us one thing, it’s that Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman are one formidable duo. Miss their debut gem at your peril.
