I first saw Wet Hot American Summer several summers ago when I was a Cabin Leader for a stay away camp in New Hampshire. Movie Night was a tradition at camp. First, the whole camp would watch a movie together. Then, after we put the kids to bed, the staff would watch one of their own. Of course, the staff movies were always a little more PG-13 than the ones we watched with the kids. Wet Hot American Summer immediately clicked for me when I watched it alongside my camp friends that summer night, and it’s been a comfort film ever since.
Anyone who loves this movie agrees– it’s the silliest movie of all time and that’s what makes it a masterpiece. For me, it captures the pure, unadulterated fun of making friends at summer camp, along with all the cringeworthy awkwardness at times too. Don’t get me wrong– my camp experience was nothing like this movie, except for in spirit.
The magic of this movie is in the moments where Beth asks Katie if putting on a pair of clean slacks and some “moose” in her hair would make her hot. Or when an obvious stunt double for Neil trails into camp on a motorcycle after not being able to catch up to Victor who ran back on foot. These are the kinds of hijinx that are only drummed up by a group of friends in a wooden cabin whose sole intention is to make one another belly laugh as much as humanly possible.
It’s no surprise to me that the writers of Wet Hot American Summer went to summer camp as children, or that the actors who brought the script to life filmed the movie while living on set, bonding with each other in the cabins every night. At summer camp, goofiness is the only social currency and inside jokes are shared by all. That’s what makes the friendships that you form at camp so special, and I have to believe that’s the genius behind all of the actors' comedic chemistry.
When you leave camp for the summer and go back to the “real world,” your friends can hardly believe the stories that you have to tell. It’s just like trying to explain a scene from Wet Hot American Summer to someone who's never seen it before. Why yes, there is a talking can of vegetables that liberates the head chef from his shame, thanks for asking. The impossibly silly plot of Wet Hot American Summer always makes me feel like I’m back at summer camp, laughing with my friends on a big green lawn, and it’s one of the best feelings in the world.
