Camp
Review by David Bjerre
Genre: Drama Queen
Keywords:
Musical numbers, sexual confusion, summer camp.
Did you know that...
The inspiration for the film is The Stagedoor Manor camp.
THE STORY
It's summer, and once again teenagers from all over the country gather at the Camp Ovation, a special summer camp for the musically gifted. In the coming weeks, the teens will star in several more or less lavishly staged musicals and plays.
It goes without saying that this kind of summer camp doesn't exactly attract the most normal kids on the block. In fact, you'll be hard-pressed to find a single straight guy in the entire camp. And then Vlad arrives. Not only is he as straight as they come, but he can sing, he plays the guitar and he looks like he just stepped out of a boyband. Naturally he's an overnight sensation with the girls.
Vlad's roommate is the openly gay Michael who has been disowned by his family, and struggles with his sexuality, or rather the world's perception of it. To stir the pot he showed up at his prom in a dress and full makeup, causing him to get beat up. His face still shows signs of the fight, but his soul got it even worse. There's also Michael's best friend Ellen, who is as charming as she is fresh, though she's well aware that she doesn't fit the conventional definition of pretty. She ends up in a play with Vlad and the two of them get along very well. And let's not forget the blond queen bitch, who wants nothing more than to sink her claws into Vlad, the sooner the better.
This year the camp is blessed with the talent of maverick composer "Bert", who will direct the big finale show. He's a one-hit-wonder, who's been unable to follow up his big success with a new musical. Now he's over the hill and no amount of dopey wide-eyed kids who regard him as the 8th Wonder can change that fact.
A bunch of traumatized teens, with passive-aggressive feelings towards their sexual orientation, and disillusions about their musical abilities. A group of teachers that uses the camp to live out their failed dreams. And a director who's been living under a shell for fear of his own talent. For once the brochure got it right. Camp Ovation really is a camp like no other.
REVIEW
This film puzzles me.
It's kind of an odd mix of teen dramedy and musical. The trouble is that the film can't decide what it wants to be, so it tries to be both things at once. The film stages countless song and dance numbers that seem to go on forever, but doesn't have the guts to turn into an actual musical, though it clearly wants to. The teen drama scenes work well, but every time the film is about to build up momentum, TA-DAAAAAA, it's interrupted by yet another song and dance piece. The tone of the film is light and playful, with sudden bursts of extreme darkness, and there's even some heightened reality slapstick scenes here and there. In other words... It's a mess. An uneven and episodic film that struggles to hold on to those fragile moments it manages to create.
One has to wonder how somebody would come up with such a strange story. A quick search on the internet reveals that this is in fact based on director Todd Graff's own experiences, when he was a kid. You might know him from James Cameron's "The Abyss", where he played the rat-obsessed Hippy. He has also written screenplays for several films, most notably "The Vanishing". Graff LOVES his musical numbers, and gets carried away every time he stages one, and why shouldn't he? His cast is comprised of a bunch of multi talented all-singing all-dancing kids. They're amazing artists, each and every one of them, no question about that, but that's basically irrelevant. They need to work within the film, and that's where they come up short. Most of the kids have no prior experience in films, and only a limited theatre background. Their commitment to their characters often feels labored, partly due to Graff's occasionally awkward staging, partly because some of them should be standing on a stage in a school somewhere, perfecting their talent, not in front of a film-camera that never lies.
Still, there's no shortage of good intentions. The film is made with a passion for the subject and a spirit rarely found in films these days, and that should count for something. It should also count in the film's favor that it dares to tackle some heavy subjects. Along the way it deals with homosexuality, bisexuality, creative burnout and parents who set impossible standards for their children, while at the same time making everyone of these kids eminently aware that the future holds no rainbows for them, and that they'll most likely never stand on a stage again after this camp is over.
The strange semi-serious tone of the film not withstanding, "Camp" has a good vibe running through it, and it's easy to get caught up in these kids and their crazy lives. After all, this is a feel good film with a twist. The fat kid won't suddenly be thin, but maybe she'll be a little more comfortable with her body, and the tortured gay kid won't be "cured", but he'll be a little less unsure of himself. The quiet overlooked kids will get a chance to break out of their shells, and escape real life for a few weeks, and everybody gets to dance and sing in the end.
"Camp" has a clear advantage over most other teen films. It actually has a message. The trouble is of course that it's doubtful if the target audience will sit still long enough to absorb any of the film's lessons.
Most teen films just aim to make you feel good. "Camp" wants to make you feel good about being different. Hallelujah! Cue the gospel choir.
