Camp

After writing one hit musical and never been able to recapture that same inspiration Bert Hanley (Dixon) has taken a job at Camp Ovation, an entertainment summer school for teenagers. Vlad (Letterle) was the middle child of five brothers who longed to be noticed and he saw acting as his way of doing that. Ellen (Chilcoat) has absolutely no confidence until she takes to the stage. Michael went to his junior prom in a dress and has escaped to camp after receiving both physical and mental beatings from his schoolmates and family. All of them see the summer camp as their chance to change and start again.

The musical is making a comeback and reality shows are taking over the airwaves. Camp combines the two, giving a cast of unknowns the chance to become stars on a background of musical theatre and social issues.

Like a modern day Kids from Fame but touching on more present day issues than they ever could on 1980s television, Camp is a musical with a massage. Acceptance, social standing, image, sexuality and other teenage issues are all dealt with on a background of musical numbers from 20th century compositions.

The unknown cast are very good during the musical numbers but seem to struggle with the more intimate dialogue driven moments of the film. Daniel Letterle is good as the only straight guy in the camp, Vlad. He is arguably the best actor of the ensemble and the filmmakers have realised this by giving him most of the key scenes. Anna Chilcoat and Robin de Jesus are also good in the more dramatic parts of the movie but come into their own while performing. The rest of the cast seem far more comfortable while singing and performing, especially the teachers. Humour comes from Tiffany Taylor and Anna Kendrick as bitter rivals Jenna and Fritzi who both go to extremes to steal each other's limelight.

Writer/Director Todd Graff does a good job of mixing drama and comedy with a background of music. The three main leads characters are developed enough to get you to care about them but the supporting cast do seem only to be there for minor subplots and background singing.

Camp goes further than Fame! ever could by dealing with issues that affect the more creative and performance minded teenagers. The songs and numbers are very good and should be enough to keep any musical fan happy but non-fans may struggle to find the story and acting good enough to keep their interest.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is very good. The picture is very sharp, even during the nighttime scenes but come alive during the stage performances, really emphasising the lighting. The sound is also very good, which is would have to be for a musical based movie. The dialogue sections are very clear also and the surround sound really makes use of all the speakers during the musical numbers.

BONUS FEATURES

The Making of Camp (25.02 mins)
Writer/director Todd Graff takes you behind the scenes of the making of the movie. He talks about his influences behind the story and how it was based on his own experiences at Stage Door Manor acting camp. The featurette then takes you from the cast auditions, through rehearsal, studio recording of the songs to shooting at Stage Door Manor. The cast talk about their roles in the film and it highlights each of the main musical numbers. The making of� climaxes with the showing of the film at the Sundance Film Festival in 2003 and you can see the type of reaction the film received during the festival.

Live Performance (3.53 mins)
The cast give a live performance of the opening song of the movie "How can I see you through my tears?"

Deleted Scenes (11.23 mins)
Watch four deleted or extended scenes, which didn't it into the final version of the film. Highlights include a Camp baseball game and the full, uncut version of Petie's tap number.

Jump to a Song
Your chance to just watch the songs from the movie. Songs include "How can I see you through my tears?", "Wild Horses", "Turkey Lurkey Time", "And I'm telling you I'm not going", "Ladies who Lunch", "I sing for you", "Century plant", "Here's where I stand" and "The want of a nail"

Song Sheets (DVD ROM)
View the song sheets from all the musical numbers featured in the film.

Trailer
Watch the full theatrical trailer for Camp.

OVERALL

A nice film receives a good DVD. The bonus features reveal more of the talents of the young cast but a commentary track from either/or the cast and writer/director Todd Graff would have added more to the value. Still this is a well-packaged presentation that will delight fans and make it worth a rent or purchase for anyone who likes musical drama.

DVD

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2003