Review Roundup: THEATER CAMP Film Starring Ben Platt Comes to Theaters

Theater Camp officially hits theaters tomorrow, July 14!

The film was directed by Nick Lieberman and Molly Gordon, who co-created the film with Gordon's co-stars Noah Galvin and Ben Platt.

The film also stars Patti Harrison, Nathan Lee Graham, Ayo Edebiri, Owen Thiele, Jimmy Tatro, Alan Kim, Alexander Bello, Bailee Bonick, Kyndra Sanchez, Donovan Colan, Vivienne Sachs, Quinn Titcomb, and Caroline Aaron, with special appearances by Amy Sedaris and Priscilla Lopez.

When clueless tech-bro Troy (Tatro) arrives to run the property (into the ground), Amos (Platt), Rebecca-Diane (Gordon), and production manager Glenn (Galvin) band together with the staff and students, staging a masterpiece to keep their beloved summer camp afloat.

Ahead of its theatrical release, check out what critics thought of the film. Read reviews below!

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Amy Nicholson, The New York Times: "Clearly, the actors feel their characters in their bones. My favorite physical detail was how Platt’s Amos interrupts a bad rehearsal by leaping onstage in a showy frog hop, like Kermit giving ‘em the old razzle dazzle. How magical that, later, this floundering show-within-a-show is rescued when the children invest every ounce of moxie into belting Rebecca-Diane’s lame lyrics. Gusto can spin anything into gold."

Valerie Complex, Deadline: "Theater Camp is a hilarious film by first time directors Molly Gordon (Booksmart), and Nick Lieberman. This was a collaborative effort between friends as it's written by Molly Gordon, Ben Platt, Nick Lieberman, and Noah Galvin. You can tell this is a labor of love because while it's kooky, it's full of vulnerability and earnestness."

Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post: ""Theater Camp" is a film very much made - and will be most appreciated - by people who understand these bizarre, "Brigadoon"-like summer camps where artsy kids are both open-hearted and openly ruthless. The characters are not stereotypical or cliche, but alarmingly recognizable. I know far too many Rebecca-Dianes."

Tim Grierson, ScreenDaily: "This likeable comedy suffers from the inevitable hit-or-miss ratio of its improv-heavy script, although the film does find its footing during its closing musical numbers."

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: "This is the first feature for Gordon and Lieberman and there's little evidence of a visual sense, even if the rough edges are part of the appeal. But perhaps due to the elements of improvisation, the comic timing is uneven and the material tends to be more often cute than uproarious."

Adrian Horton, The Guardian: "For all the grand gestures of musical theater, there's an odd flatness to Theater Camp, a half-hearted and lackluster comedy from a group of Hollywood friends set at a summer performing arts community ... The real remove comes from a script that must've seemed much funnier on paper than in practice."

Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail: "Theater Camp doesn’t have a wide enough scope to zoom out from its extremely specific landscape to turn its inside jokes outward, nor an ironic enough detachment from the material that it’s riffing on."

Derek Smith, Slant Magazine: "Theater Camp’s comedy mostly comes across as forced and laborious, which makes watching the film, at times, feel like sitting through extended acting exercises where everyone is giving it 110% every take."

Jake Coyle, AP News: "'Theater Camp' might have worked better with a “Meatballs”-style structure, focusing on a camper and a counselor. But it knows how to put on a show. With songs written by the screenwriters and Mark Sonnenblick, “Theater Camp” in the end hits just the right note between satire and sincere."

Steve Davis, Austin Chronicle: "If you were a drama nerd growing up, you’ll probably find Theater Camp endearing in its embrace of a let’s-put-on-a show subculture that seems quaint today. You’ll be in on the joke(s). But if you abstained from such enthusiasms in your youth, you may be annoyed by the movie’s winks and nudges, visualizing a vaudeville hook to yank every showboating thespian offscreen."

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Watch the trailer for Theater Camp here:

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