When Wet Hot American Summer came out in 2001, it wasn’t exactly met with praise, failing both critically and at the box office. While that combination is usually an indicator the film was a failure, Wet Hot became a cult classic and more appreciated over time.
I first watched the movie this year and found it to be a hilariously absurd movie. What makes it an even better watch now is that many of the actors in the cast — including Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Banks — were mostly unknowns at the time and have gone on to become big stars. If you watch the flick, there’s a good chance you’re going to recognize somebody from the ensemble.
Somehow, director David Wain and co-writer (and star) Michael Showalter got all of those big names to return to camp in an eight-episode prequel series, Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer: The First Day of Camp — and holy boats, is it magical.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLlMTn_Jzok
As the title suggests, the prequel takes place on the first day of camp, eight weeks before the original movie. All of the actors have returned, and while they’ve all aged considerably since the first film, their characters haven’t. It’s bizarre yet totally funny to see 40-year-olds play teenagers, interacting with fellow younger campers like they’re near the same age and not adults.
While doing a prequel presumably means you have to adhere to a certain plot to help things make sense for the movie, the show takes fun creative liberties with how characters came to be, which had no mention in the film.
For example, Elizabeth Banks’s Lindsay is reinvented as a 24-year-old music journalist in disguise, pretending to be a camper so she can learn about a rock star who has been rumored to be hiding in a nearby cabin. We also get the origin story of how Jon H. Benjamin’s character came to be a can of vegetables. (Spoiler alert: It involves radioactive waste.)
The whole thing seems like nonsense, but the root of Wet Hot American Summer‘s greatness is how ridiculous it was, and this series ramps that up another level.
If you didn’t dig the movie, you’ll enjoy it based on cameos alone — because there are A LOT of them. Some of the highlights include John Slattery as a pervy renowned Broadway actor, Chris Pine having some fun as a former rock star turned recluse and Michael Cera as a small-town lawyer trying to take down an evil corporation.
But none of the cameos are as hilarious as Jon Hamm playing a hired assassin named The Falcon. Hamm’s storyline doesn’t make a whole lot of sense (note the theme) but oh boy is it fun. He brawls with Chris Meloni’s character Gene towards the end of the series, and it may be the best moment out of the entire Wet Hot universe.
There’s a lot of genuine laughs to be had with the new retelling of Wet Hot, especially if you’re a fan of the movie or Wain’s previous work.
The show takes the movie’s zany, ridiculous humor and amps it up to new preposterous levels. In 2015, it’s weird to see an expansion of a cult hit, but this prequel — as much as it seems like fun nonsense sometimes — is completely enjoyable and a fine continuation of the series. But most importantly, it’s funny as hell. Both fans and newbies will get a kick out of First Day of Camp.
