Theater Camp is the funniest comedy of the year
Theater Camp has now landed on Disney+ in the UK and if you missed it on its cinema release in August, you'll want to catch up on the mockumentary as it's the funniest comedy of the year.
Directed by The Bear star Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, who also co-wrote it alongside Ben Platt and Noah Galvin, Theater Camp takes place at the fictional summer camp AdirondACTS. It's under the new management of tech bro Troy (Jimmy Tatro), who has had to take over from his mother, for reasons which are too hilarious to spoil here.
Facing closure, the camp's teachers – including Amos (Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Gordon) – and production manager Glenn (Galvin) have to put on the show of their lives to save the camp. And a documentary crew is there to watch them all the way to opening night.
With a heavy Christopher Guest influence, Theater Camp could never be accused of having the most densely layered plot. The most dramatic element here involves a Juilliard revelation, straightly delivered with the weight of a shock death, which probably tells you everything you need to know about the movie.
But while anybody who has been to a similar acting and musical camp will be able to mine extra laughs, you don't even need to have a theatre background to enjoy it. Much like you didn't need to have a music background to adore This is Spinal Tap, Theater Camp succeeds because the characters are excellent.
You wouldn't want to spend time with some of them in real life, especially the self-obsessed Amos, but they're painfully funny to hang out with. The gag rate is relentless, down to the well-timed title cards, and if not everything lands due to the improvisational approach, there's a show-stopping gag right around the corner.
Unsurprisingly, Platt and his co-writers Gordon and Galvin are excellent, yet they're not alone as there's strong support from Gordon's The Bear c0-star Ayo Edebiri as new teacher Janet Walch, who's lied to get the job. Arguably the biggest surprise is American Vandal's Jimmy Tatro, who takes the tech-bro stereotype and makes Troy endearing.
Crucially, Theater Camp might have a lot of fun at the expense of its central camp and the archetypal theatre kids, but it's never done with malice. This is ultimately a loving tribute to these kinds of camps, and how they can bring together the 'outsiders' to give them a community that understands them.
This extends to the supremely talented young cast who make up AdironACTS's returning and new students. The gags are never at their expense; it's the adults, and their at-times ridiculous attitudes, who are the butt of the joke.
They're also the ones who steal the show in Theater Camp's perfect final act as we see the debut of this season's original musical Joan, Still. As well as continuing the gags (opening number 'Women Can't Read' is outrageous), it has genuine heart and proper show tunes that'll move you like the best West End show.
By the time Joan, Still's big finale comes around, which contains some real-life footage of Platt and Gordon's theatre days, you'll be ready to give Theater Camp your own standing ovation. Assuming, that is, you can stop laughing at even more exceptional title cards and a hilarious punchline to a running gag involving Troy's mother.
Theater Camp might not have even been on your radar after the Barbenheimer madness of this summer, but you won't regret paying a trip to AdironACTS.
Theater Camp is available to watch now on Disney+.
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