Wet Hot American Summer

Infobox Film
name = Wet Hot American Summer


caption = "Wet Hot American Summer" DVD cover
director = David Wain
writer = Michael Showalter
David Wain
starring = Janeane Garofalo
David Hyde Pierce
Michael Showalter
Marguerite Moreau
Michael Ian Black
Zak Orth
A.D. Miles
Paul Rudd
Christopher Meloni
Molly Shannon
Elizabeth Banks
Ken Marino
Amy Poehler
producer = Howard Bernstein
distributor = USA Films
budget = US$5,000,000
released = 27 July 2001 (New York City)
runtime = 97 min.
language = English
imdb_id = 0243655

"Wet Hot American Summer" is a 2001 feature film.

The film is a cult comedy about the last day of summer camp in 1981. It stars Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter, Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Marguerite Moreau, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Ian Black, Amy Poehler, Zak Orth and members of MTV's sketch comedy group The State. It was directed by David Wain who co-wrote the script with Michael Showalter. Both are members of "The State" and "Stella".

Plot

The setting is the fictitious Camp Firewood, near Waterville, Maine. It's the last day of summer camp, and the last day for each camper and counselor to find someone to kiss at the end of the big talent show that night. Beth (Garofalo), the camp director, struggles to keep her counselors in order—and her campers alive—while falling in love with Henry (Pierce), an astrophysics associate professor at the local college. Henry has to devise a plan to save the camp from a piece of NASA's SkyLab, which is falling to Earth. Coop (Showalter) has a crush on Katie (Moreau), his fellow counselor, but has to pry her away from her rebellious, obnoxious and obviously unfaithful boyfriend, Andy (Rudd). Only Gene (Meloni), the shellshocked Vietnam vet and camp chef, can help Coop win Katie – with some help from a talking can of vegetables.

Background

The movie is based on the experiences Wain had while attending Camp Modin, a Jewish camp, then located in Canaan, Maine; and Showalter had at Camp Mohawk in the Berkshires in Cheshire, Massachusetts Fact|date=November 2007. During one scene in the movie, the counselors take a trip into Waterville, Maine, which is not far from the camp. It is also a parody of summer camp movies made during the 1980s such as "Meatballs"

Filmed in the late spring, it rained for a large portion of the filming schedule. Exterior shots were filmed catch-as-catch can, and in many scenes, rain can be seen outside during an interior scene, and in the next scene the characters will leave the building and the sun is shining. The film itself follows The State's irreverent humor, with lots of absurdism, non-sequiturs, and toilet humor.

The film was shot at Camp Towanda in Honesdale, PA Fact|date=November 2007 and is rated R for adult humor and language.

As the film is set in the early 1980s, the film's soundtrack features songs from many popular bands of the era, most notably Jefferson Starship, Rick Springfield, Loverboy, and KISS.

Reception

"Wet Hot American Summer" received mostly negative reviews from critics. As of April 2007, it has a 42/100 rating on Metacritic and a 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an 11% rating from their "Cream of the Crop" critics. Notably, Roger Ebert rated the film with one star out of four, and despised it so much that his review took the form of a sarcastic tribute to Allan Sherman's "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh". [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20010831/REVIEWS/108310303/1023] In contrast, Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman awarded the film an "A" and named it as one of the ten best films of the year

Characters

*Beth:Beth is played by Janeane Garofalo. The awkward director of Camp Firewood who falls in love with Henry, and seeks advice from many characters on how to deal with her crush.
*Henry:Henry is played by David Hyde Pierce. Astrophysics associate professor who lives near the camp. Beth convinces him to teach the kids about space but the two end up falling in love as Henry and the nerdy kids must stop a piece of Skylab from falling onto the camp.
*Gerald "Coop" Cooperberg:Gerald "Coop" Cooperberg is played by Michael Showalter. A naive counselor who falls in love with Katie and struggles to get her to notice him.
*Katie:Katie is played by Marguerite Moreau. Andy's cute girlfriend who is confused choosing between Coop and Andy.
*Andy:Andy is played by Paul Rudd. A rude jerk in the model of many 80s films, he is "in charge" of water sports and the lake. He only cares about himself and cheats on Katie with Lindsay. He occasionally lets campers drown, then throws any witnesses out of a moving van.
*McKinley:McKinley is played by Michael Ian Black. A counselor whose friends try to get him laid only to find out he is gay when he marries Ben.
*J.J.:J.J. is played by Zak Orth. Of an undetermined role at the camp, he hangs out with McKinley and Gary.
*Gary:Gary is played by A.D. Miles. A member of the kitchen staff who hangs around with J.J. and McKinley. He works under Gene and usually points out the weird things he says.
*Gene:Gene is played by Christopher Meloni. Vietnam War veteran who is the head of the kitchen staff. He is disturbed and does absurd things like fondling his sweaters, smearing mud on his butt and humping the fridge. He teaches Coop how to be cool.
*Can of Mixed Vegetables:Can of Mixed Vegetables is voiced by H. Jon Benjamin. A talking can of vegetables who tells Gene to be himself.
*Gail:Gail is played by Molly Shannon. A divorced counselor whose failed marriage causes her to break down while teaching arts and crafts.
*Aaron:Aaron is played by Gideon Jacobs. An eleven year old in Gail's class who helps her get over Ron, and later becomes her fiance
*Victor Pulak:Victor Pulak is played by Ken Marino. A "ladies man" who is forced to go take the kids on a rafting trip with Neil just as Abby wants to have sex with him. Victor later reveals to Neil that he is a virgin, and eventually abandons the rafters and embarks on a mission to get back to camp to be with Abby.
*Neil:Neil is played by Joe Lo Truglio. A counselor assigned to the rafting trip with Victor.
*Lindsay:Lindsay is played by Elizabeth Banks. A hot girl who enjoys barbecue and likes Andy
*Abby Bernstein:Abby Bernstein is played by Marisa Ryan. A promiscuous girl who makes out with a few of the couselors and one camper. She seems to fall for anyone who will give her a stick of gum.
*Ben:Ben is played by Bradley Cooper. Producer of the drama production and talent show. He is McKinley's lover.
*Susie:Susie is played by Amy Poehler. Ill-tempered director / choreographer of the camp's production of Godspell.
*Steve:Steve is played by Kevin Sussman. J.J.'s younger brother who talks in a robot voice, keeps a pet chicken, and displays telekinetic abilities.
*Arty:Arty is played by Liam Norton. A camper who really enjoys pretending to host a radio show in which he calls himself "The Beekeeper." He has not taken a shower all summer.
*The Indoor Kids:A group of misfits to whom Henry teaches astropyshics and leads in a mission to save the camp from a falling piece of Skylab
*Nancy :Nancy is played by Nina Hellman. The camp nurse who tells Beth and Henry where to find a book on astrophysics and camp directing, respectively.

Possible Prequel

David Wain has confirmed that he might do a prequel to Wet Hot American Summer. The movie would be set earlier in that same summer, and part of the joke would be that the cast who was ten years too old to be playing their parts would now be playing younger versions of those same roles, but this time be twenty years too old. The movie would star the same cast from the original. [http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/22/a-prequel-to-wet-hot-american-summer/] [http://chud.com/articles/articles/15646/1/WET-HOT-AMERICAN-PREQUEL/Page1.html]

External links

* [http://www.wethotamericansummer.com Official site]
*imdb title|id=0243655|title=Wet Hot American Summer
* [http://www.kittenpants.org/13_pudding/whas.asp Kittenpants.org interview]