Three wonderful actresses at the center, and a reunion setup rife for laughs and life lessons: what could possibly go wrong? At Summer Camp, written and directed by Castille London, decades of issues rise to the surface, but the cookie cutter safeness prevents much fun from being had. Perhaps I was just not the target audience. Either way, seeing Kathy Bates (Misery, Fried Green Tomatoes), Alfre Woodard (12 Years a Slave, A Series of Unfortunate Events), and Diane Keaton (Something’s Gotta Give, The Family Stone) relive their glory days at least makes for a mildly amusing distraction for the summer doldrums.
Fifty years after they connected at Camp Pinnacle, three friends who have slightly drifted apart over the years finally have a chance to reconnect. The first annual summer camp reunion at their old stomping grounds could be just the shot in the arm to give their friendships a jolt of reenergizing. Things have changed a lot in the decades since they first met. Nora (Keaton) remains fixated on her work, always bailing on plans to get them together over the years and still something of a loner. Ginny (Bates) has become a world-famous self-help author whose knowledge and expertise were always beyond her years even as a child. The final main player, Mary (Woodard), has married and settled down, working her way up as a resident in a hospital. None of these women seem to have grown up to be the people they always imagined, and that is really the crux of the story. This camp reunion will change them, at least making Nora worry about things other than her swivel chair losing its swivel.
If any of their respective stories had heft beyond the surface level, maybe this could have worked better. One would assume Ginny would be uptight and snooty, being the most famous of the bunch, but no, her central struggle is her control-freak nature. Alas, this script assumes throwing flash cards to the wind constitutes character development, or learning some vital life lessons. Mary’s story does not fare much better—anything we learn about her supposed unhappy marriage occurs almost expressly offscreen. How can we root for her to escape her marriage when it doesn’t seem too full of conflict and turmoil, just minor unhappiness? The least problematic story belongs to Nora, though assuming she finds a way to stop being so obsessed with her work is probably a safe bet. Nora becomes fixated on a former crush (Eugene Levy, American Pie, Schitt’s Creek), and the duo make casual moves at one another over the course of the brief runtime.
Castille London throws these characters into a variety of situations to shake them up, including a “lazy river” that is actually just white water rafting, a brush with the former mean girls aptly named the “pretty committee,” archery, zip lining, and horseback riding. Josh Peck’s Jimmy, a bumbling camp employee, somehow manages to steal the show. Jimmy makes every mistake in the book, and shows up for each major event the girls are liable to attempt. No stranger to physical comedy after his years on Drake & Josh, Peck leaves a mark, and is easily the most memorable aspect of Summer Camp. The big friendship fight takes altogether too long to even occur—by the time it does, inevitably, it will be reconciled.
Despite best intentions and hilariously obvious wigs, Summer Camp cannot manage to dig itself out of the hole of mediocrity. Squandering talent this massive is unfortunate indeed, but at least Bates manages to squeeze a few chuckles out of the premise. I still admire the attempt Castille London made in crafting an old-folks romp that seniors may love. This is one Summer Camp not quite worthy of attending.
Buckle in and get ready to ship off to Camp Pinnacle with Summer Camp, only in theaters on Friday, May 31st.
