Blast from the Past
A gloriously silly send-up of 1980s teen sex comedies, Wet Hot American Summer, was developed by members of a beloved 1990s sketch troupe.
Grade: B
Image: USA Films
The Premise:
The movie shows the last day of the 1981 summer camp, Camp Firewood, located near Waterville, Maine.
It depicts the experiences of the camp counselors, most of whom are students aged around 16. The interleaved story threads meet in the evening at the camptalent show.
For example, Cook Gene, a Vietnam vet, clumsily tries to hide his sexual fetishes. After being encouraged by a talking can of vegetables, he proudly admits them to the campers and counselors in front of the packed food hall, to great applause.
Among other things, it introduced many of the faces that would define comedy in the 2000s, including Bradley Cooper, as a gay counselor, a role he later reprised in the web TV series “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp” (2015).
Wet Hot American Summer premiered at the 2001 Sundace Fest, where it screened to sold-out crowds, though it failed to attract a distributor. Months later, USA Films offered the filmmakers $100,000 for the film.
It premiered in New York City on July 27, 2001, then received limited release in fewer than 30 cities, failing eveb to recoup its modest budget.
When it first came out, though, the only people who seemed to care were fans of MTV’s The State, credited to David Wain and Michael Showalter, who co-wrote the script of the 2001 flick.
Over time, given the early-career appearances from Amy Poehler, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper, and many others the film’s stock has risen to minor cult picture.
It was revived on Netflix as a pair of limited series in 2015 and 2017.
While its absurdist humor has gone more mainstream in the intervening years, the movie’s self-conscious playfulness and gleeful silliness remain intact.
Cast
Janeane Garofalo as Beth
David Hyde Pierce as Professor Henry Newman
Molly Shannon as Gail von Kleinenstein
Paul Rudd as Andy
Christopher Meloni as Gene
Michael Showalter as Gerald “Coop” Cooperberg/Alan Shemper
Marguerite Moreau as Katie Finnerty
Ken Marino as Victor Pulak
Michael Ian Black as McKinley
Zak Orth as J.J.
A. D. Miles as Gary
Nina Hellman as Nancy
Amy Poehler as Susie
Bradley Cooper as Ben
Marisa Ryan as Abby Bernstein
Kevin Sussman as Steve
Elizabeth Banks as Lindsay
Joe Lo Truglio as Neil
Judah Friedlander as Ron von Kleinenstein
H. Jon Benjamin as Can of Mixed Vegetables
Donna Mitchell as Gene’s Wife
