The eccentric staff of a rundown theater camp in upstate New York must band together with the beloved founder’s bro-y son to keep the camp afloat.

Mockumentaries have been more of a feature of television of late than of movies, at least since Christopher Guest slowed down his output, but when you get a good one they can be as funny as an outright comedy – I’m thinking of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ (incidentally now also a TV series) and ‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping’ in recent times. The latest attempt to join the ranks of great mockumentaries comes in ‘Theater Camp’, from Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman in their feature directorial debuts. Taking place in a fictional summer theatre camp, it follows the teachers, theatre kids and administrators as they attempt to run a successful camp while dealing with the financial difficulties that have beset the camp. It’s a classic setup for the clash between true artistic vision and the financial realities that force a necessary compromise.

The first interruption to normal proceedings comes at the outset when the founder and director of the camp, Joan (Amy Sedaris), has a seizure and ends up in a coma, leaving her YouTuber son Troy (Jimmy Tatro, very at home in this environment) to take over operations. His style clashes with both the kids that attend the camp and many of the staff members, most prominent of which are Rebecca-Diane and Amos, two former campers turned staff members who are played by co-director Molly Gordon and Ben Platt. As they spend their time trying to write a musical about Joan, Troy quickly realises he’s in over his head in dealing with the financial difficulties that the camp faces – difficulties which have drawn the attention of the bigger theatre camp next door.

I suspect this movie will likely play better with folks familiar with this world but I still enjoyed it a lot, largely due to the good performances and the offbeat humour that both satirises and lovingly pastiches the characters you tend to find in a theatrical environment. It is very funny (one reveal towards the end had me in stitches!), both in the dialogue and in the musical numbers that have been crafted for ‘Joan: The Musical’, but it also has a lot of heart and the final act surprised me in how much I was invested in it. ‘Theater Camp’ is an entertaining mockumentary and well worth your time if you’re a fan of the genre or theatre or both!

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman

Starring: Ben Platt, Molly Gordon, Noah Galvin, Jimmy Tatro, Caroline Aaron, Ayo Edebiri, Nathan Lee Graham, Alan Kim, Owen Thiele, Patti Harrison and Amy Sedaris

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt21232992/