Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

Director:

David Wain

Writers:

Michael Showalter (written by) &
David Wain (written by)

Release Date:

11 April 2002 (Czech Republic)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

High Times. Hard Bodies. Soft Rock.

Plot:

Summer camp hijinks, set in 1981.

Plot Keywords:

Astrophysics | Summer Camp | Skylab | Talent Show | Vietnam War Veteran

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Janeane Garofalo	...	Beth
David Hyde Pierce	...	Henry Newman
Michael Showalter	...	Gerald 'Coop' Cooperberg / Alan Shemper
Marguerite Moreau	...	Katie
Michael Ian Black	...	McKinley
Zak Orth	...	J.J.
A.D. Miles	...	Gary
Paul Rudd	...	Andy
Christopher Meloni	...	Gene
Molly Shannon	...	Gail von Kleinenstein
Ken Marino	...	Victor Kulak
Joe Lo Truglio	...	Neil
Amy Poehler	...	Susie
Bradley Cooper	...	Ben
Gideon Jacobs	...	Aaron

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content, language and a drug sequence.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | New Zealand:R13 | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:M | Canada:R (Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Québec)

Filming Locations:

Honesdale, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Eureka Pictures

Trivia:

This movie was based on Camp Modin (Belgrade, Maine), the summer camp director David Wain went to.

Goofs:

Continuity: Many of the continuity "mistakes" were included intentionally by the filmmakers and were meant to be subtle and funny, including Neil's hair in the motorcycle chase scene and the differing level of completion of the blanket that Nancy is knitting when she gives Beth and Henry the library advice.

Quotes:

McKinley: Arty, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to take a shower today.
Arty: OK.
McKinley: 'Cause your parents are coming tomorrow, and I don't want to get in trouble.
Arty: Sure.
McKinley: You haven't taken a shower once this summer. Not once in 8 weeks.
Arty: I will.
McKinley: You're covered in dirt. Take a shower.

Movie Connections:

References "Kung Fu" (1972)

Soundtrack:

Day By Day

Hilarious

Wet Hot American Summer is one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time. It has an excellent cast, including: Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter, Paul Rudd, Chris Melloni, Amy Poehler and Michael Ian Black. This spoof of summer camp movies from the 70's and 80's does a great job of recreating the implausible and predictable plots of the movies of the ear while still staying incredibly funny and fresh. WHAS touches on all the old themes, such as the nice guy trying to get the hot girl, the director awkwardly trying to find love, and the outcast who saves the day. Some of the funniest scenes in the movie are the ones that are so random and unexpected-Andy and the kids in the van, the trip into town, etc.-that you just have to laugh. I have no idea why it didn't receive more attention. It's a shame that a movie this good hasn't received the attention that it deserves.