Theater Camp

"You only fit in by acting out."

2023 1h 33m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🍅

86%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 222🍅86%Rotten Tomatoes●70Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 18,544

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After the indomitable and beloved founder of a scrappy theater camp in upstate New York falls into a coma, the eccentric staff must band together with her clueless "crypto-bro" son to keep the thespian paradise afloat.

“You only fit in by acting out.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

YouTubeRent

Fandango At HomeRent

Spectrum On DemandRent

Amazon VideoBuy

Apple TV StoreBuy

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Ben Platt
Amos Klobuchar
Molly Gordon
Rebecca-Diane
Noah Galvin
Glenn Winthrop
Jimmy Tatro
Troy Rubinsky
Caroline Aaron
Rita Cohen
Ayo Edebiri
Janet Walch
Nathan Lee Graham
Clive DeWitt
Owen Thiele
Gigi Charbonier

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nick Lieberman
Writers: Nick Lieberman, Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 88% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nick Lieberman, shot by Nate Hurtsellers. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James McAlister. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jon Philpot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ben Platt and Molly Gordon and Noah Galvin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You only fit in by acting out.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt21232992 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nick Lieberman directs. Nate Hurtsellers behind the camera. James McAlister scores. Jon Philpot cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 88% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 3 years ago.
3Directed by Nick Lieberman, shot by Nate Hurtsellers. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by James McAlister. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Jon Philpot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ben Platt and Molly Gordon and Noah Galvin carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "You only fit in by acting out.".
8IMDB entry: tt21232992 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 21 themes, including "friendship", "coma", "summer camp", "musical".

The technical file

Cinematography: Nate Hurtsellers
Original score: James McAlister
Editing: Jon Philpot
Production design: Jordan Janota
Costume design: Michelle J. Li
Makeup / hair: Mitch Ely
VFX supervisor: Alex Noble
Sound: Jonathan Fuhrer
Stunt coordinator: Dean Neistat
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,000,000
Box office: $4,400,000
Return: 88% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Theater Camp (2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 70/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 18,544 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

5 wins & 22 nominations total

Sundance Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Cast

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Nick Lieberman

Theater Camp
2020 · ★ 10.0

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-08-30
★ 6/10
When "Joan" (Amy Sedaris) unfortunately has a seizure caused by the strobe lighting (or perhaps the singing) at an am-dram performance of "Bye Bye Birdie", her profiteering and none-too-bright son "Troy" (the Channing tatum-esque Jimmy Tatro) finds himself in charge of her summer camp for would be, young, theatricals. This school is largely held together by "Amos" (Ben Platt), "Rebecca-Diane" (Molly Gordon) and the technical factotum "Glenn" (Noah Galvin). Next door there is a much more exclusive operation and they have their eyes on the valuable land, so when foreclosure looms they all must rally round to raise some cash and save the place from demolition. Can they? Do we actually want them to? I don't come from a nation where there is much of a summer "camp" culture, and so much of this just came across as an overly contrived concept with all of the precociousness of "Glee" but none of the character of "Fame". The kids are largely just annoying, as is the dithering storyline between the two adult principals. There is one decent song but you have to wait a while for that, otherwise the POV documentary style of photography offers an intimacy into the lives of some professional no-hopers charged with instilling some semblance of hope into these youngsters that just didn't engage me. I was on my own in the cinema when I watched this - it's better than that, but only just.
Brent Marchant2023-09-16
★ 6/10
Films in the mockumentary genre can be thoroughly satisfying entertainment experiences when done right, as seen in such examples as “Zelig” (1983), “This Is Spinal Tap” (1984) and “Fear of a Black Hat” (1993). But the key, as noted above, is in doing them right, something to which this latest such offering from writer-directors Nick Lieberman and Molly Gordon can’t lay claim. The problem here is that the picture is too hit or miss on too many fronts: When it’s on, it’s brilliant and genuinely hilarious (especially in the film’s final act); however, when it’s not, it tries too hard to be funny and often ends up falling flat. That’s unfortunate, since the picture’s high points – as good as they are – simply aren’t enough to make up for the low ones. This faux look into life at an Adirondack theatrical-themed summer camp for youngsters and teens has a few too many diverse story threads that stray from the picture’s central premise. Then there are the characterizations, which are truly well developed but focus more on the camp’s adult staffers than on the characters that should matter most – the campers themselves. What’s more, the narrative relies heavily on the use of graphics to move the story along, but they frequently stay on the screen for unduly short durations, a practice that becomes progressively irritating over time. In all, this is a production that feels half-finished, one sorely in need of tidying up to make it work as well as it might have. Perhaps that’s due in part to the picture’s volume of material – 70 hours of footage – but that abundance of images likely wasn’t culled as effectively as it might have been. It feels as if the film aspires to be like one of Christopher Guest’s mockumentary projects (most notably “Waiting for Guffman” (1996)) but just doesn’t quite come up to the same level, despite a strong underlying basis that should have leant itself well to this format. To be sure, this is by no means an awful release; it makes for a modestly pleasant at-home streaming option for a midweek evening. It’s just regrettable that it doesn’t live up to what it could have been.