MOVIE REVIEW

Camp  (2003)

Starring: Robin De Jesus, Joanna Chilcoat, Don Dixon
Director: Todd Graff

Rating: PG-13

Studio: IFC Films

Release Date: 7.25.03

Review Posted: 8.08.03

Spoilers: Minor

By Sara Michelle Fetters

Singing the Praises of "Camp"

I remember going to YMCA summer camp as a kid. There was a pristine freedom to it all, the thought that I could be anyone or do anything with absolutely no pretense as to what others around me thought. It was a world completely disassociated from the one in which I lived, where none of the pressures of growing up could intrude upon two weeks of frivolity, fantasy and friendship that took place deep inside the woods of the Pacific Northwest. It was a time of youthful exuberance and exploration, experiences I would not trade away for all the gold the world has to offer.

It is just that sort of feeling that director Todd Graff gets so deliciously right with his new musically inclined film “Camp.” Exploding from out of the director’s own youthful experiences of attending – and then counseling at – New York State’s Stagedoor Manor, a summer camp for musically and dramatically disposed youth, “Camp” is a fresh and vivacious movie full of life and song that explodes with vibrancy few movies dare.

The youth of “Camp” are on the fringe of acceptance in their normal daily lives. The sexually questioning Michael (Robin De Jesus) is pounded to a bloody pulp when he shows up at his junior prom in drag, while the unpopular Ellen (Joanna Chilcoat) is so eager to attend her prom with a good looking boyfriend she’s descended to the level of asking her athletic and handsome college-age brother to go with her.

But at Camp Ovation, these two are no different than the others who long for nights filled with the sound of Sondheim with nary a football or piece of athletic equipment in site. It’s a world they belong in wholeheartedly, and even if they know their Broadway dreams may never come to fruition in real life, here amongst the Evergreens each and every one of them is a stage door superstar.

Into this idyllic campground come to distinct figures: the fist is well respected lyricist and composer – whom with a decade of inactivity has turned into a cynical alcoholic – Bert Hanley (Don Dixon), the second seemingly red-blooded All-American straight boy Vlad (Daniel Letterle). As the summer progresses, each will force the kids of Camp Ovation to take a hard look at themselves as well as having to come to grips with their own personal demons and insecurities. Friendships forged, life lived, hardship overcome; this is one summer camp no one is soon to forget.

“Camp” is a joyful movie to say the least. Graff crafts a film full of life and longing that enraptures the soul. An early edict from the writer/director before production started was to fill his movie with talented unknowns eager for musical and dramatic stardom, just like the kids in his screenplay. Daunting enough to make your debut featuring one unknown and untried talent, but to fill an entire picture with them isn’t just intimidating; it’s borderline stupid.

Credit the casting directors then for finding kids with just as much nervy energy as the director, for it is the kids of “Camp” that make it burn. While it is fairly obvious Letterle, Chilcoat, De Jesus and the others are all amateurs, that “let’s put on a show” enthusiasm is just exactly what the movie needs to make it a success. In all non-musical aspects of the film, the kids slip into their respective roles so cleanly that you could almost swear “Camp” was more a summer camp documentary than fictional musical motion picture. I got the feeling these kids weren’t acting. Nay, they appeared to be living the lives of the respective characters, so much so I almost started to feel like I knew them personally.

Then they sing. If you think the kids on “American Idol” have talent, you ain’t seen nothing, yet. If today’s idea of a burgeoning pop or Broadway superstar is the likes of a Clay Aiken or Kelly Clarkson, wait until Tiffany Taylor belts out the movie’s sure-to-be-signature number “Here’s Where I Stand.” She’s so good the youngster had the audience clapping along while I was drenched in tears. Better yet, check out Anna Kendrick and her audaciously powerful rendition of the Sondheim standard “The Ladies Who Lunch” (from “Company”) and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that this 15-year-old dynamo (who’s not even out of braces!) can carry a tune better than most of your more fashionable pop stars.

But then, the whole cast just exudes musical confidence from top to bottom. Watching many of the audition sequences, I couldn’t stop thinking how good each and every one of these kids were, the also-rans every bit as talented as those picked to headline. From a soulfully delicate rendition of the Rolling Stones classic “Wild Horses” to a full-blown production number of “Turkey Lurkey Time” (from the Hal David/Burt Bacharach musical “Promises, Promises”), the kids of “Camp” go so far above and beyond your average high school-grade theatrical production I’d swear they’re all ready for the Broadway stage right now.

Granted, Graff’s screenplay doesn’t exactly go places or reach moralistic conclusions I didn’t see coming. A simplistic take on teenage human interaction permeates the proceedings, reducing many of the dramatic moments to an almost “Saved by the Bell” inanity. While it is nice that Graff tackles the issue of gay youth and teenage sex (and longing) head on, I kept wishing he had more to say about them than syrupy clichés. It’s a little annoying, and at times even insulting, and I just couldn’t help feeling like the director could do better.

Maybe so, but that complaint still doesn’t hide the fact that “Camp” is one of the summer’s must-see blissfully enthusiastic winners. With a smile on my face and song in my heart, the kids of Camp Ovation left me feeling as good as I possibly can, getting me to remember those summer days so long a go when a dream at home could become playful camp reality sung upon a cool evening August breeze.

Rating: êêê  (out of 4)

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