March 12, 2014

Wet Hot American Summer

Now this one I've definitely seen before, but it was so long ago that I've forgotten almost all of it and I felt a re-watch would warrant a posting. All I remembered was that it was hilarious, and sure enough it still was. Wet Hot American Summer parodies 80's camp movies and teen movies in general, combining overdone melodrama with absurdities like kids drowning while being ignored by counselors, or a trip into town in which all the counselors get addicted to hard drugs. It's got a stellar cast of mostly unknowns at the time who have turned into some of the biggest names in comedy over the last decade- specifically Amy Poehler, the guys from Stella, Paul Rudd, and H. Jon Benjamin. It's even got Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Banks in very early roles. If you need any motivation to see this film- check out how unfunny Roger Ebert was in his attempt at a scathing one-star review.

1 comment:

  1. Yeah, what I loved about this movie was its broad-brush-stroke of comedy. You had actors going big, actors playing it straight, Adult Swim style absurdity in some scenes, and witty dialogue in others. While I can see how that could easily be dismissed as stupid and toneless, I also think there's something in it for everyone, and it works well no matter how drunk you are or how much you're paying attention.

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