Summer Camp (2024)

“Summer Camp” stars Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Beverly D’Angelo, Nicole Richie, Josh Peck, Betsy Sodaro, Dennis Haysbert, and Eugene Levy.  Released on May 31, 2024, the film has three friends reuniting at their childhood summer camp.

The film was written and directed by Castille Landon, who also directed “Fear of Rain”, “After We Fell”, “After Ever Happy”, and “After Everything”.  Summer camp is often one of the best places to enjoy the great outdoors. It's also a place to spend time with friends and make new ones. However, as expected, these experiences don't last forever, even outside of camp. But that doesn't mean there aren't many opportunities to recapture that feeling, no matter how old we are.  The weekend after Memorial Day isn’t usually the best timeframe to provide new releases, allowing the blockbusters released on the holiday weekend to continue raking in the big bucks.  At least until another shows up to take all the glory.  However, that also means it allows the smaller films to grab people’s attention between its series of IP-based franchises.  One of these is the latest addition to the list of slice-of-life movies involving elderly friends getting into humorous antics.  Even adults deserve to have fun this summer, not just kids.  With that said, let’s see if this reunion is as amusing as going to an actual summer camp.

The story centers on Nora (Keaton), Ginny (Bates), and Mary (Woodard), three women who have been best friends since childhood.  Every year, they get together to spend summer vacation at a sleep-away camp, Camp Pinnacle, but all that changes when they grow older, with each of them dealing with their own personal problems.  However, the chance to reunite represents itself when Nora, Ginny, and Mary attend the summer camp reunion together.  Despite their different types of enthusiasm, the three come together to reconnect with each other while their own issues back home follow suit.

This wasn’t exactly my top choice to see this weekend, following my experiences with Garfield and Furiosa.  In fact, it was another movie I wouldn’t mind watching at home if it’s available on a streaming service.  But, of course, because of another “mystery movie” event I attended, it became something that left me with no other option.  On the other hand, it aligns with the other movies featuring well-known actresses portraying elderly friends in sitcom-like scenarios, which I recently have a soft spot for.  The “Book Club” movies were fine as one-time watches, but “80 for Brady” was surprisingly one of the more tolerable ones in that category, so I was hoping for “Summer Camp” to be more along the lines of the latter.  By that, I mean fun slice-of-life comedies depicting the power of female friendships.

From the looks of its synopsis and cast, “Summer Camp” undoubtedly has that familiar essence you’d expect from these types of comedies.  You have a trio of talented actresses and plenty of amusing slice-of-life scenarios involving older adults acting like they’re 50 years younger.  These qualities make for an easy draw for older audiences, similar to what “Book Club” and “80 for Brady” accomplished.  However, that’s not to say they’re perfect for everyone outside their target audience regarding the execution of their straightforward screenplays and messages.  Sure, they’re harmless pieces of media that people can either pay money to see in the theater or leave on their televisions at home, but quality-wise, they’re not the ones I would call “Oscar-worthy".  Sadly, "Summer Camp" is another example of that theory. It might be suitable for those who enjoy similar comedies like this, but others might want to spend their summer vacation elsewhere.

To give credit where it's due, "Summer Camp" accomplished this similar feat by impressing its target audience with its easy-going vibes and heartfelt nature, partly due to its cast.  Despite the movie not reaching the heights to honor their presence, the leading trio made a suitable effort to maintain my attention through their performances.  Diane Keaton once again makes her mark in senior comedy territory, which is far from shocking considering how well she did in her previous films.  While some of her role choices recently are becoming quite questionable, it’s hard to ignore Keaton’s likable presence shining through the movies’ flaws.  Unsurprisingly, her performance as the workaholic Nora is no exception.  If you enjoyed Keaton in her other works, you’ll undoubtedly feel the same way toward her in this.  Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard were also OK in their roles as Ginny and Mary, respectively.  Eugene Levy is also in the film, portraying Diane Keaton’s love interest, making this film a “Finding Dory” reunion I didn’t know I needed.  However, it did feel like he was there for an easy paycheck.

Another good thing I can admire is the element that elevates the other female-led comedies with elderly actresses: its heart.  This film delivers a heartwarming message about the significance of friendship as the three childhood friends overcome personal challenges to preserve their bond. Nora is a workaholic who prioritizes her job over everything else.  Ginny is a motivational speaker who eventually gets a huge reality check.  As for Mary, she’s got marriage issues.  Amid their fun and games at the summer camp reunion, the three protagonists struggle with these issues that could make or break their ever-lasting friendship.  This would make for another heartfelt, albeit simplistic, approach to its themes…if everything else didn’t make the movie feel like a lifeless television movie on Lifetime.

“Summer Camp” certainly has its heart in the right place regarding its message, but the journey of getting to that point was as foul as a cabin’s stench from not being cleaned for a few years.  The film exhibited a few similarities to successful movies like "80 for Brady," but it missed the mark in understanding the specific elements that contributed to the success and enjoyment of those movies.  Castille Landon only had a few films under her belt, mainly the final three “After” installments that I honestly don’t give a raccoon’s butt about.  With “Summer Camp”, she had the chance to follow in the footsteps of the other filmmakers who helmed similar comedies involving older female friendships.  Unfortunately, Landon immediately stumbled with her balance of comedy and drama from minute one and never recovered.  Regarding the direction and screenplay, Landon's approach lacked vitality and failed to infuse the bare necessities with the much-needed humor and charm to enhance the somewhat uninspired and derivative narrative. The comedic elements did not resonate as intended due to its forgettable and tame jokes, while the dramatic aspects struggled to transcend the triteness of the dialogue.

Overall, “Summer Camp” fails to maintain its heartfelt vibes underneath the weight of its summertime blues.  Admittedly, this is another movie that’ll impress its target audience with its cast and heartwarming messages, and I have nothing against it.  If they like these types of films, who am I to spoil their fun?  The problem is that this film took those elements from similar elderly female comedies and did nothing with them to satisfy those outside its intended crowd.  Regarding the inept direction, uninspired script, and lackluster characters, this summer vacation is a huge misstep in the genre.  I apologize for not having much to explain in this review, as my interest in this film wasn’t as high as everything else that’s coming out.  All I can say about it is that it’s a movie that exists for its target audience and nothing else, for better or worse.  If they’re happy with it, then I should be glad they enjoyed it more than I did.  As for me, I’m better off spending the summer at home.

D