Film Reviews

Camp

• Rating:
• Director: Todd Gradd.
• Starring: Daniel Letterle, Joanna Chilcoat, Robin De Jesus, Don Dixon, Tiffany Taylor, Alana Allen, Anna Kendrick
• Details: US / 114 mins / (15PG).

Take a dash of 'Fame', throw in a smidgen of 'Flashdance', mix around on 'Dirty Dancing' mode, serve extremely gay and you've got the ingredients for 'Camp'. Billed as a "comedy about drama", this riff on the old-high-school-students-in-a-bit-of-adversity genre is so enthusiastically played by its energetic, confident young cast of unknowns that its faults - and there are many, folks - are possible to overlook. Well, endure for its running time. Set in the fictional Camp Ovation, Camp follows a group of young artistic outcasts who are persecuted by their straight edged peers. Whatever their problems in the real world, these kids look forward to nipping off to their getaway where they can just be themselves. Chief amongst these kids are Vlad (Letterle) - a rarity in that he seems to be the only straight boy in the entire film - an unpopular student called Ellen (Chilcoat) and the cross dressing Michael (De Jesus). While at Camp, these kids stumble over relationships and a variety of plot strands, including a bitter booze hound (Dixon) and the case of an overweight child (Taylor) whose old man has taken extreme measures to see that she loses a few pounds. Camp by name, camp by nature, this movie is so gay-friendly that it makes 'Queer As Folk' look like an episode of 'The Waltons'. The plot matters are more soap opera than a defined narrative and frequently veer into the arena of the grossly crass and one-dimensional. Where it finds some sense of definition is with the ruthless ambition of its talented young cast, who are determined to make the most of their big chance. Bring a tent and a set of guy ropes.

Review by Garreth Murphy