Summer Camp

Greetings again from the darkness. There is always space (and a need) for silly or mindless entertainment. But even that genre requires some skill and refinement, so as not to stoop to imbecilic. The Farelly brothers, the Monty Python troupe, Abrams & Zucker, and Mel Brooks all understood this when crafting a movie. Writer-director Castille Landon has been making movies for a while now, and it appears this concept has eluded her despite assembling her most well-known cast.

Camp Pinnacle was established in 1928 (according to the sign) and there is a group of young girls we see maneuvering through a traumatic first-time event for one of them who is not quite 11 years old. An older girl offers some very personal assistance, and a lifelong friendship begins among the three outcasts in Sassafras Cabin. Year after year, the girls return for a few weeks of camp shenanigans and bonding. We then jump ahead for the Camp's 50-year reunion (we assume this is 50-year reunion of the year these girls started attending and not 50 years for the camp itself, which would have put this at 1978).

Self-help guru (we don't use that word) Ginny Moon (Kathy Bates, Oscar winner MISERY, 1990) is the driving force behind organizing the reunion, and especially in getting her grown-up friends to attend. Mary (multi-Emmy winning Alfre Woodard) is a nurse, while Nora (Diane Keaton, Oscar winner ANNIE HALL, 1977) is a workaholic business owner. Personalities are quickly established. Ginny Moon has never married and rides around in a pink tour bus with her catchphrase, "Get Your S*** Together" plastered on the side. Mary is a talented nurse who is questioning her long marriage to her self-centered husband (Tom Wright). Nora is the type who uses her work as an excuse to avoid living a life.

Supporting roles are covered by Beverly D'Angelo, Betsy Sodaro, Josh Peck, Eugene Levy (as a love interest!), Dennis Haysbert, and Nicole Richie. There is really no reason to go in depth into what happens in this film. It seems obvious the filmmaker is hoping to capitalize on the success of recent films like BOOK CLUB and 80 FOR BRADY. The potential was certainly here, but the final product is simply insulting, belittling, and demeaning to women. Food fights and pillow fights may be camp staples, but inane dialogue and unbelievable situations and reactions make for painful viewing. Ms. Keaton, in particular, seems to mail in her performance with an overdose of her patented head shakes and sighs (and wardrobe). Ms. Bates and Ms. Woodard outclass her in every scene, with Ms. Woodard delivering the film's single best scene in her confrontation with her husband.

For years we have heard that the acting opportunities for older women are limited, and clearly there is an audience for stories about mature women. What's equally obvious is that these women deserve significantly better stories and better roles. Exploring the concept of finding one's self in life's later stages is a topic worth pursuing ... it's simply a concept that deserves better than this.

Opening May 31, 2024.

Is it just me or does Diane Keaton not know how to play ANY other character types? My gosh, she is so one-dimensional. I cannot remember the last time I actually saw her act. She wears the same clothes, same glasses, same haircut, same sthick (Oh! Silly me!)... Yet Hollywood acts as if she's SO fabulous. Her movies are nothing but self-congratulatory fluff. Clearly Hollywood is desperate for new story lines. It's like watching re-runs over and over again. Mack and Rita? Puh-lease! The same neurotic character over and over and over! Stop already! Summer Camp? Really? Alfrie Woodard and Cathy Bates? Awesome.

Very cute but also incredibly lacking. I generally love this genre of heartwarming film but Summer Camp was missing an anchor. The story was a bit uneven in pacing; some scenes seemed out of order, we could have flashed back to the younger campers a little more and I think it would have added to the emotional depth. The writing wasn't quite there and the acting also seemed flat for a large portion of the film. None of the emotion felt earned, it felt as though the audience was being told "this is an important moment" rather than feeling the important moments. There wasn't enough character development to really feel invested in the characters' journeys.

Summer Camp features a promising cast. Unfortunately they are brought down by weird plastic surgery, a strange cairacture supptoring role, and a food fight between 60-somethings, which would never happen. The most real parts of the movie were in the very first scenes, when the main characters were girls.

The premise makes me wish I could return to my summer camp days: sleeping in a cabin, making frieds with other girls, doing arts and crafts, waterfront, and campfire.

This script did nothing for these star players. Costuming was totally unrealistic as well. I would have fallen asleep if I was watching this at home; fortunately I was in a theater with food and a beer.

I wanted to love this movie. With a cast like Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard you would expect this film to be damn near perfect or at least funny. But I am not going to blame the cast for this epic failure. It comes down to the writing. What is going on with writing scripts for actors of this generation of late, take for example the latest Book Club, which was another failure. Writers need to get their act together and start delivering decent scripts that do justice for these amazing actors. This really is not good enough. Like I said in the title, the best bits were the bloopers during the end credits. Such a disappointment.