When Wet Hot American Summer debuted in 2001, it tanked at the box office. Was it the niche subject? The scouring satire? The off-beat humor? Regardless, it has rightly since found a notable cult following. Michael Showalter and David Wain’s movie was chock-full of fantastic actors doing supremely silly things, and their new Netflix prequel series is the same -- it’s just made all the more surreal since so many of the cast have gone on to be true movie stars. But returning to Camp Firewood and seeing these 40-somethings again playing teenagers is both humorously meta and wonderfully familiar. It’s good to be back.
Like the movie, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp takes place over the course of one improbably packed day, and is overflowing with references both obvious and obscure. While it’s still enjoyable as a bizarre camp satire even for those unfamiliar with the source material, having that background knowledge makes the series that much more layered and rewarding. But as a prequel, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp is not content to just revisit its original stories. It expands its already robust cast with even more characters and cameos than before (the roster is massive). Those results are mixed, as are its “origin” stories. But when the series gets it right, it’s absolutely hysterical.
Running 8 episodes (4 of which Netflix sent out for review), First Day of Camp was made to be binge-watched, and then watched again. Some jokes require attention, but largely the series is made to be instantly accessible, if you allow it take you along for its weird ride. The half-hour episodes flow together like an extended movie, picking up more and more characters as it spirals towards its grand fate. (And pardon the veiled nature of this review, but First Day of Camp’s surprises — and they are manifold — are best left as just that).
Of the original cast, Showalter and Paul Rudd are still absolute stand-outs in their roles as the sensitive Coop and the badass Andy, struggling for the attention of Marguerite Moreau’s Katie (though Coop is initially involved with Lake Bell’s Donna, and Katie has another boyfriend). Both play their parts with complete earnestness, and they’re joined in that dedication by the entire cast. Each actor (no matter how many awards since gleaned) commits fully to the immaturity and absurdity of their roles and situations, producing exactly the right tone for the series. And though First Day of Camp is good when it’s purposefully letting a joke go on too long (and just fair when it’s focused on violence or slapstick), it excels not just at cringe humor, but in its full embrace of making cheesy things genuinely hilarious. It’s an elevated kind of irony that is nearly perfectly executed.
First Day of Camp is tied together loosely through the individual stories of its campers and counselors, with an overarching destruction narrative (in the movie it was a piece of Skylab crashing towards the camp; in the series it’s toxic waste being dumped onto camp grounds). Though each of the veteran cast members are given new facets of their movie narratives, creating origin stories of sorts for some of the most memorable moments from the film, only some of the connections work — far more feel like they didn’t need to be explained. In fact, First Day of Camp is often funniest when introducing completely new elements, and even new cast members.
To that end, Mad Men alums Jon Hamm and John Slattery are treasures in the series, infusing First Day of Camp with new energy. While a seemingly sincere subplot about two young campers who like each other feels misplaced in the otherwise broadly loony setup, Hamm’s over-the-top character fits in perfectly. The same is true for the snobs of Camp Tigerwood (including Josh Charles and yet another Mad Men cast member, Rich Sommer), who spy on their rivals from afar. And despite the much bigger plots concerning toxic waste and a government coverup, the series is best in its smallest moments, like in the way it builds up and introduces Marisa Ryan’s Abby Bernstein in a quietly funny way.
But there are so many elements to First Day of Camp (I haven’t even mentioned half of the cast yet), it doesn’t even matter that they don’t all hit it out of the park. The overwhelming feeling about the series (at least through its first half) is just fun. The cast is clearly having a good time with it, and viewers should, too. First Day of Camp still has some perceptive truths to illuminate about the camp experience (especially Jewish summer camp), and about the dramatic life of the American teen summer camp counselor (and movies made about them). But more than anything it just wants to be entertaining and, in its own words, “not suck dick.” And it succeeds there in spades.
Rating: ★★★★ Very good — Damn fine television
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp premieres Friday, July 31st on Netflix.