Summer Camp: Starring Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, and Eugene Levy
Ahhh...summer camp. Swimming, hiking, burning your mouth on marshmallows because you HAVE to eat them while the chocolate is melting, right?? Plus, it's a great place to meet new friends, and learn how to navigate relationships away from the comfort of home. There have been many movies made about time at summer camp, to show all the fun during and sometimes after (looking at you, Parent Trap!). This summer's claim to the camp fame is "Summer Camp" which shows how childhood buddies can become lifelong friends.
The opening:
Hope nobody is squeamish! The opening is definitely geared toward a female audience. We see a girl (Nora) walking into a cabin, she meets a group of teen girls standing outside of a bathroom. She tries to confirm she's in the correct cabin, but the girls tell her no, and then bang on the bathroom door where another girl (Mary) is freaking out about how she thinks she's dying. Enter in...the camp "vet" (Ginny). She was hanging outside the cabin, smoking of course. She busts into the bathroom and tells Mary that she's just got her period and hands her a tampon. (This is the point where the 20-something guy sitting next to me got up and walked out!). Ginny and Mary leave the bathroom, Ginny tells Mary and Nora to follow her, and the three leave together.
Main storyline
(Warning, spoilers ahead!)
As the first part of the film moves on, we see the girls returning to camp, year after year, until, inevitably, they all grow up. Now it's many years later and the friends are all grown up. Wanting to re-kindle the friendships they had at camp, Ginny, now a successful self-help businesswoman, sets up a camp reunion, and "kidnaps" her friends to take them. At first, they all are having a great time, reconnecting and experiencing the camp once again, but, as expected, they soon are at each other's throats, and nothing ends up going to plan. Nora and Mary are upset that Ginny created the whole thing to try to drag them away from their lives, and Ginny is upset that they aren't listening to her. Of course, by the end of the movie, they all realize what's holding them back. Ginny's whole business practice is set upon the phrase "Get your shit together", which she realizes is an awful thing to say to someone who may actually just be trying their best to stay afloat. Mary realizes that she's not happy in her marriage, and Nora realizes she's a workaholic. They all agree not to go to such lengths to hang out again, and face their fears by tackling the giant ropes course that the camp has, ending with a zip line above the trees.
Overall take
So...is this the "feel good movie of the summer"....Not in my eyes. Althought, the movie did have some funny moments, most weren't even remotely realistic. (Nora shooting an arrow that ends up piercing the abdomen of another camper, yet they don't seem to seek medical attention for him, for example). For the most part, a lot of the comedy fell flat. A food fight with a bunch of adults? Come on. Totally predictable, and it really wasn't that funny. Eugene Levy is usually brilliant with his comedy, and I had high expectations, but after "Schitt's Creek", this was kind of a miss, although he and Josh Peck were the most appealing, comedy wise. Kathy Bates was amazing, as usual, but both her and Diane Keaton's characters were mostly unlikeable. Alfre Woodard did a nice job, but I feel like her character could have lifted right out and the movie would have mostly been the same. All in all, I don't believe I would go out of my way to watch this one again, but if it was playing like in a waiting room or something, I'd probably glance up from my phone now and again to catch the funny parts.
"Summer Camp" is mostly a miss and gets a Kariviewed score of 2 out of 5 stars.
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