Summer Camp Movie Review (2024)
A light comedy about friends reconnecting at summer camp, Summer Camp is harmless but charmless, with a good cast and a message that takes too long to come together.
When The First Wives Club was released in 1996, it sparked a bit of a revolution. Suddenly, middle-aged women were front and center, taking their power back. That movement has led to a bunch of other movies about women in the same age group or older (as it should have!), but, like any other genre, they don’t always click the way that first film did.
Summer Camp is about three summer camp girls who didn’t fit in with anyone else, but found a home with each other. Going their separate ways over the years and living very different lives, they have kept in touch but don’t see each other often. When their camp hosts a reunion, they all attend, sleep in the same cabin, and relive some of their youth.
I was hoping for something more like Calendar Girls, but that wasn’t this. This is a low-stakes story about three friends who you hear have a history together, but you never quite feel the bond on screen.
From the early scenes, when one friend asked a girl she had just met to put in her tampon, Summer Camp felt like it was trying to be something, but it just never knew exactly what. There are sex toys presented without any further conversation and a nemesis that shows up at the reunion, but there’s very little follow-through. There is also an incredibly formulaic format that includes childhood crushes, food fights, and the one character that can’t seem to get anything right.
The best thing about this film is the amazing cast. Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Beverly D’Angelo, Josh Peck, Betsy Sodaro, Dennis Haysbert, and Eugene Levy star, and without the incredible talent of this group, there would be nothing here to watch at all. Keaton, Bates, and Woodard do their best as the three friends, and although they are likable enough, there is no magic. It did catch me off guard that Eugene Levy plays a heartthrob here, and I loved every second of that. He’s extremely dashing when he wants to be.
This is a well-meaning film and it won’t hurt you, but there isn’t much to say about it. It is thinly developed and does ultimately have a message, but it takes a VERY long time to get there. I was never engaged in the film or much of the story, although the individuals are entertaining enough to watch. Who doesn’t want to spend an hour and a half with Alfre Woodard, regardless of the role? Be sure to stick around for the credits, though. Some of what you see there is funnier than the movie.
Runtime: 96 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? No
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 1.5/5 Stars
Available: Free on Hulu and Disney+, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
