Growing up, I went to sleep-away camp every summer. The last week in July, I would pack my suitcase too full and head to an old barn for a week of music, swimming, weird awards and surprisingly good food. We would stay up too late talking and then wake up too early so we could try to get a warm shower. It was exhausting and dirty and one of my favorite parts of every summer. I hoped that sense of wonder would be recaptured in Castille Landon’s film “Summer Camp.”
Ginny (Kathy Bates), Nora (Diane Keating), and Mary (Alfre Woodard) met at a summer camp when they were kids. Despite plans to do everything together as they became adults, the three women drifted apart. When there is an opportunity for a reunion at the camp, the three take the chance to reconnect. While there, they meet up with former camp crushes Stevie D (Eugene Levy) and Tommy (Dennis Haysbert), as well as camp nemesis Jane (Beverly D’Angelo). The three friends must confront the issues that caused them to drift apart, as well as the problems that have kept them from living their best lives.
This movie is a bit uneven throughout. Although it is billed as a comedy, the comedic parts felt hackneyed and outdated. Where this movie shines is when it gets serious and introspective. There are a number of moments, particularly between the friends, when they start to examine some aspects of their lives that are holding them back from true happiness.
All of the performances in this movie are fine. There are no career bests from Bates, Keaton or Woodard, but they all seem to have fun. Woodard is the standout of the three, as her story has the best arc. Levy and Haysbert also turn in perfectly serviceable performances, adding some additional perspective to various scenes throughout the movie.
But this movie is about summer camp, so despite some genuinely poignant scenes, the audience is also subjected to all of the silly camp tropes. We have an over-enthusiastic camp counselor. We have a staff member who isn’t good at anything, so he shows up in every scene to show how inept he is. We have a giant food fight. Any of these might have worked, but because it’s interspersed with deep conversations — about losing a spouse and filling the void with work, or allowing success to be a form of avoidance, or putting aside your hopes and ambitions for everyone else — they feel absurd and out of place.
Overall, there are aspects of this movie that work. Landon is much younger than the characters she wrote, but she manages to capture their voice with an authenticity that surprised me. “Summer Camp” may fail as a comedy, but it succeeds as a reminder of the power of life-long friendship.
Alise Chaffins is a Morgantown writer who loves movies and sharing her opinions. She reviews a movie from a streaming service every Saturday and one newly in theaters every Sunday. Find more at MacGuffin or Meaning on Substack.
