Wet
Hot American Summer (2001)
It's obvious from about 3 seconds into "Wet Hot
American Summer" that it is going to be hilarious. Slo-mo
images of sexy, drunken 70's youth cavorting around
a campfire are accentuated by the opening strains of
Jefferson Starship's classic soft rocker "Jane." I laughed
my ass off. The sorority girl behind me whisperingly
asked her boyfriend, "What's so funny?" To which he
replied, "The music... It's so cheesy."
Yes. But this simplistic explanation punctuates
the most important aspect of "Wet Hot American Summer."
You've really got to be over 30 to truly get it. I mean,
the whole issue of Airplane/Starship history, the selling
out to soft rock, the pop culture references, the Marty
Balin issues. All of this is relevant to the joke of
using "Jane" as the opening song here. This film may
seem a simple spoof at first glance, but it is, in fact,
a deeply textured comedy. A definitive knowledge of
late 70's/early 80's movies, music and pop culture is
necessary to truly get all of the jokes - and their
true implications.
"Wet Hot American Summer" stars Janeane Garofalo
as Beth, the camp director of a summer retreat filled
with hormonally unbalanced pubescent youth. "I love
her. She's so funny and cynical," said the sorority
girl behind me. (I got up and moved).
Anyway, the opening scene, after the aforementioned
soft-rock credit sequence, is beautiful. Numerous campers
are shown in bed together blissfully humping away. When
the sun comes up, they run frantically back to their
own beds while Garofalo sits on her cabin's porch and
wryly and purposefully ineffectually chides them for
being out of their bunks. From this point on, "Wet Hot
American Summer" lampoons and lambastes every cliché
from every 70's and 80's teen sex romp ever made.
It would be impossible to name the hundreds of
films that are referenced here;. the most obvious of
which is "Meatballs." But this film isn't specifically
about spoofing scenes from other movies. Rather it spoofs
the elements and cliches from genre movies. There is
a wonderful segment that deconstructs every teen sports
film from "The Bad News Bears" to "Air Bud." It's fresh
and funny. Even better is the "drug sequence" (also
known as the "trip to town" sequence) which hilariously
stomps on those segments in teen sex romp films where
everyone has fun and gets high smoking pot. (Before
I moved seats, the stupid girl behind me actually said,
"Oh it's like 'Dazed and Confused' but in the 80's."
She was wrong, but this segment is like a loving jab
at films like "D&C.")
Fans of MTV's landmark sketch comedy series "The
State" will recognize Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter,
Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio and David Wain here. In fact,
Wain and Showalter co-wrote the film and Wain directed
it. But the guys wisely add a ton of talent to the cast.
Well, they have to, there's a ton of plot and characters
here. There are loads of teenagers and sexy counselor
girls. And then there's David Hyde Pierce and Molly
Shannon too. Everyone in the film is funny.
"Wet Hot American Summer" utilizes any and every
comic style and device to get a laugh. From lampoon
to absurdism to sex jokes to slapstick, the film runs
the gauntlet, unafraid to go balls out for a laugh.
99 times out of 100, it works. If you were born in the
60's and don't leave the theater with your sides aching,
you must have been raised in Amish country or something.
This film is a riot. Even the gay jokes here are hilarious
and non-offensive.
It isn't often that low-budget independent films
are laugh- out loud funny, but this year I have seen
two of them. "Wet Hot American Summer" and "Super Troopers."
Finally, comedy is getting the chance to break into
the arthouse and be spotlighted alongside the more serious
fare. And with its bevy of sexy guys and hottie girls,
make-out scenes and blunt, uproarious comedy, "Wet Hot
American Summer" is one of the most fun evenings you
can spend at the arthouse.
Note:
Other pop songs used include Kiss' "Beth," and
Quarterflash's "Harden My Heart."
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