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Snappy campers
Todd Graff's campy debut film "Camp" will delight those who know and love
musicals, as well as the occasional — you should pardon the expression —
straight play.
By LESLIE (HOBAN) BLAKE
Offoffoff.com
(Originally reviewed in April 2003 at the New Directors / New Films festival, Lincoln Center.)
Before he won a Tony nomination for best supporting actor in the
Musical "Baby" (1984), actor Todd Graff ("Death to Smoochie") was first a
camper and then a counselor at Stagedoor Manor — one of those "Let your
child be all that he/she can be this summer" camps that advertises in the
back pages of the New York Times Magazine section. Now, with five
previous screenwriting credits (including "The Beautician and the
Beast"/1997, "Angie"/1994 and "The Vanishing"/1993), Graff has gone back to what
he really knows for his own directorial debut.
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| | | CAMP | Written and directed by: Todd Graff.
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Letterle, Chris Spain Don Dixon, Sasha Allen, Tiffany Taylor, Alana Allen, Egle Petraityte, Dquina Moore, Joanna Chilcoat, Steven Cutts, Shaun Robin de Jesus, Vince Rimoldi, Stephen DiMenna.
| | RELATED ARTICLES |
New Directors / New Films 2003
Festival site
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"Camp" plays like a cross between "Fame" and "Love! Valour! Compassion!"
with nods to "Dawson's Creek," Beverly Hills 90210" and all those old
Mickey and Judy musicals. At multi-ethnic Camp Ovation, where
campy types abound, Graff introduces every angst-ridden teen misfit
archetype you've ever seen, from Michael, the pimply faced Puerto Rican kid (Robin de
Jesus) beaten up for dressing a la Cher at his senior prom to Fritzi
(Anna Kendrick), the "All About Eve" wannabe enslaved by Jill (Alana
Allen), the Tori Spelling-like rich bitch. Of course there's also the plain
but talented Ellen (Joanna Chilcoat), always the best friend, never the
girlfriend; Jenna (Tiffany Taylor), the plump black girl who was
supposed to go to Weight Watchers c and (gasp!) there's even a straight
boy (Daniel Letterle), who's panted after by most of the above. Each
kid has the requisite dream and some of the requisite talent to make it
come true before the summer ends with the annual benefit show.
Sure there are clichŽs, but postgraduate camper/performer Graff
usually offsets them, with sarcastic humor requiring at least a nodding
acquaintance with theater. If you don't know the cast size of "'Night
Mother," the set design for Beckett's "End Game," or the subject matter of
"Wit," you'll miss a few of the jokes and your punishment will be to
shoot hoops with the Sports Counselor. ("We have a sports counselor?"
asks one kid incredulously.) Graff's movie, like certain cereals, isn't
for kids, it's aimed at those adults who've been there and remember
those seemingly halcyon teen years as the cruelest time for "artistic"
kids with stars in their eyes and taps on their shoes. Graff even
introduces an alcoholic has-been composer/director (Don Dixon) as a signpost
of the reality ahead.
The high point of the film is its various musical numbers, replete
with the painful auditions that precede them — only a Scrooge won't laugh
at a 12-year-old belting out "I'm Still Here" from "Follies" or enjoy
an excellent rendition of "Ladies Who Lunch" from "Company" by a 14-year-old
Joanne (Kendrick). With all that Sondheim, there's even a cameo by the
great god Stephen himself before the requisite happy ending — however
offbeat.
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APRIL 5, 2003
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Reader comments on Camp:
HELP from loz, Sep 29, 2003
"Camp" from Mr Mike, Jul 1, 2003
"Camp" from Gwen, Jul 22, 2003
Awesome! from Ashley Chamberlain, Aug 26, 2003
OMG from Maggie, Feb 27, 2004
Re: OMG from Luc Restivo, Feb 28, 2004
WOW! from matt, Mar 4, 2004
camp! from dom, Jul 16, 2004
script from rose, Jul 26, 2004
"camp" from Kayla, Aug 17, 2004
LAME from Claire and Mina, Nov 24, 2004
P.S. from Claire and Mina, Nov 24, 2004
camp from robert smith, Dec 13, 2004
ENGLISH from MYCHELLA ARMSTEAD, Jan 4, 2005
? from ressa, Apr 7, 2005
WTF? from darin, Apr 15, 2005
Camp from Jen, Sep 3, 2005
Score? from MiKeY, Sep 6, 2005
love it from Julie-Anne, Dec 3, 2006
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