Hey folks, Harry here.... Ya know what, this really does sound like it could possibly be a lot of fun. It's been a while since we've had a real successor to the MEATBALLS crown of glory.... many xerox copies have failed the test to pull anything but a groan from this stone, but maybe... just maybe they've done it here. I personally love Janeane Garofalo and Molly Shannon... so I'm there regardless... but beware while reading this.. there are some gags spoiled.... tread softly...
Hey Harry -
Last night I had the chance to check out a rough cut screening of "Wet Hot American Summer," from the creative team behind MTV's late, lamented "The State," at NYU's Cantor Film Center. After standing in line for an hour and a half alongside far too many name-dropping. pretentious film school geeks, I was treated to the funniest movie I've seen all year.
Set in Maine, circa 1981, the ensemble indie (just under $1 mil, so we've been told) comedy is a hysterical take on the archetypical "last day of summer"/teen movie. The plot is pretty basic - everybody wants to hook up with someone before the last night of camp finishes - so throughout the course of the day, hilarity ensues. The ensemble cast (Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, most of the "State" alumns, and a bunch more) are on point, and fortunately, they have a hysterical script to work with (as any fan of the State will attest). I'll just give you a few of the highlights:
* the supposed teenage counselors are all in their 30s, and the interaction between them and the real child actors playing younger campers provides all sorts of comedic fodder, most notably Molly Shannon's divorce therapy sessions with a 8 year old (and their ensuing love affair), the "slutty" counselor frenching the little fat kid, and Paul Rudd's running gag of letting campers die while he's zonked, and then throwing any witnesses out of a moving van.
* when the gang heads into town, the cliche "joint-passing scene" escalates into snorting off a giant brick of coke, purse-snatching, and eventually nodding out in the middle of a heroin shooting gallery.
* purposeful lapses in continuity and self-referential acknowledgement of plot holes.
* Paul Rudd is great as the popular camp jerk , but what's REALLY funny is that his feathered hairdo and denim ensemble makes him look exactly like the singer from Third Eye Blind.
* The camp nurse asking Janeane Garofalo for lube.
* "Oz"'s Chris Meloni nails it as the camp's nutcase chef, a shell-shocked 'Nam vet who talks to tin cans. All the time he was cooking in the camp mess hall, I was expecting Beecher to shank somebody with a shiv.
* 80's running shorts. I'm sorry, but that shit is just funny on its own.
* Gratuitous Dungeons & Dragons/Druid references among the dork cabin.
* The traditional "summer lovin'" interlude features...Michael Ian Black and some other guy. Must be seen to be believed.
And these were just a few. It's really non stop with these moments. David Wain (the director) let us know that there was still one more day of shooting to go, new voiceovers to be added (courtesy of Sam Levine from "Freaks and Geeks"), and some editing left to be done. But if the final cut is anything like what we saw (as was promised), this will be big; the State's sense of humor translates surprisingly well to the big screen. I'm really gushing over this flick, and sure, as with any spoof (or any comedy for that matter) there are some gags that don't go over quite as well, and others that bomb completely. However, these moments are few and far between - I'm not kidding that I was cracking up loudly all throughout the film (much to my girlfriend's chagrin).
Imagine your "American Pie" and "Scary Movie" type teen film with a great cast, a hysterical and far wittier script, and tongue planted firmly in cheek, and you'll have an idea of the "Wet Hot American Summer" vibe. This one will be big.
Hope you get to see it soon Harry. Later -
Nick
