Theater Camp is the funniest film you probably won’t see this summer

We’ve got one week before Barbenheimer arrives to suck up all the oxygen in the room and all the spare theaters at the multiplex. So, in this calm before the pop-culture storm, let’s talk about a smaller film that’s probably not on the top of your must-see list—but should be.

In many ways, Theater Camp is the anti-blockbuster. It’s not trying to make a big statement or win any prestigious awards, and while the cast and crew would probably be thrilled if their funny little film made some money (and with such a small budget, it wouldn’t take much to at least break even), it’s pretty obvious that’s not why they made it. What comes across in every scene, snarky line of dialogue, and theater-kid cliché, is that this is a labor of love, a film made just for the fun of it. Or more accurately, as Ayo Edebiri’s character Janet puts it, “It’s not fun; it’s art.”

That spirit is woven into the film’s concept of a faux documentary about the fictional summer camp AdirondACTS and its beloved founder, Joan Rubinsky (played briefly by Amy Sedaris). After Joan suffers a seizure during a performance of Bye Bye Birdie and falls into a coma, the camp dedicates its session to her and plans to put on an original musical about her life titled Still, Joan. In his review for The A.V. Club, Brent Simon describes Theater Camp as “one cup Waiting For Guffman, one cup Wet Hot American Summer, other assorted sprinklings” and that pretty much sums it up (though you can also sense a hefty helping of the 2003 cult film Camp).

In Joan’s absence, her son Troy (Jimmy Tatro), a wannabe business influencer, takes over management of the camp and soon realizes he’s inherited an unsustainable artistic enterprise that’s in serious financial trouble. But making money was never the point for Joan. At the beginning of the film we see her dismiss the notion that the camp should give a lead part to a tone-deaf kid with rich parents during the next session because “it’s always got to be about the talent.” As Platt’s character Amos puts it, AdirondACTS is “a place for people who need it, people who are not accepted anywhere else.”

It’s ridiculous how many delightful performances are crammed into this compact hour and a half. The skills extend behind the camera as well, and some of the names are the same. The film is the result of a collaboration amongst a group of friends who take their art seriously, if not themselves.

Molly Gordon, most recently seen in the excellent second season of The Bear, co-wrote, co-directed, and co-stars as Rebecca-Diane (a cheeky Cheers reference), a former theater kid who teaches music at the titular camp. Ben Platt, currently lighting up the Broadway boards in Parade, co-wrote and co-stars as her codependent best friend Amos Klobuchar (yes, that’s a reference to Senator Amy Klobuchar). Noah Galvin, who replaced Platt on Broadway in Dear Evan Hanson and is now engaged to him, co-wrote and plays Glenn, the camp’s resident tech guy who’s secretly brimming with talent. Finally, there’s co-writer and co-director Nick Lieberman, the only member of the original creative team without a role in the film.

Outside of this core group, the cast also includes the aforementioned Edebiri, also from The Bear, the upcoming comedy Bottoms, and many other projects of late (seriously, she’s suddenly everywhere, and we love that for her). You may know Tatro from his YouTube channel Life According To Jimmy, or his roles in shows like American Vandal and Home Economics. Patti Harrison (Together Together, Shrill) and Caroline Aaron (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) have supporting roles. And they’re all backed by an ensemble of actual theater kids who sing, dance, and sell the humor without ever being grating.

At the heart of the film is the age-old opposition between art and commerce, something that’s always been a part of show business (note the juxtaposition of those two words), and especially Hollywood. It hardly seems like a fair fight anymore. Studios have become content factories within massive media conglomerates run by business executives under pressure to maximize profits and keep shareholders happy. They’ve got to make content that appeals to the widest audience possible. Blockbusters certainly have their place, especially in the summer movie season. Sometimes you just want to sit in a cool, dark place, much on some popcorn and turn your brain off for a while. Nothing wrong with that. But for true, uninhibited artistic expression, you really need to turn to the world of independent cinema.

If you’re willing to seek them out you can find some great examples in theaters right now—Past Lives, Joy Ride, The Blackening. They all offer different theatrical experiences, but they have in common a very specific and personal point of view. Now you can add Theater Camp to this group. Like the others, audiences with an understanding of the people and community depicted in the film might get something different out of it than an outsider would, but both groups can still have a great time at the movies.