I Think This 2023 Comedy Deserves More Love

There has been a lack of mainstream comedy releases in this current decade, especially in theaters, with a legacy sequel to the Naked Gun attempting to revitalize the genre. Whether it’s mainstream studios failing to come up with a compelling idea for a comedy or streaming services changing the way films are made, comedy is an extremely underrepresented genre that more studios should explore. One theatrically released comedy that flew under the radar is Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s Theater Camp. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, the film had an extremely muted theatrical release, grossing only $4 million at the worldwide box office. Searchlight Pictures’ lack of marketing for the movie may make it seem like the movie isn’t anything special, but it is one of the strongest comedies to be released in recent years.

Theater Camp is a hilarious summer comedy that pokes fun at theater kids as well as expresses the love and joy that theater can bring. From its incredible child performances to its quirky filmmaking style, the film is more than deserving of more love.

Theater Camp Does Documentary Filmmaking Right

One of the standout elements of Theater Camp is the way that it is shot. Although it tells a fictional story, the film uses a “mockumentary” style approach to tell the plot of a theater camp struggling to stay open. This style not only makes for many funny sequences, but also contributes to the overall thesis of the movie. The film wants to disclose the love of theater to the viewer, attempting to take a dive into how the theatrical process works and expressing why it is such a beloved activity to the actors. Filming a movie this way can easily come off as gimmicky, but Theater Camp‘s passion for the arts makes the film worthy of using the mockumentary style.

The camera always places the viewer into the room with the characters. It can sometimes be a little too vigilant, which makes for many extremely hilarious gags. The film isn’t afraid to delve into the stress and annoyances of the theater. From broken sets to actors ditching their parts moments before showtime, the film is extremely honest in the way it expresses the power of theater. Although it portrays the stress that comes with putting on a theater production, the film also makes it clear that the joy that comes with it makes all the problems with it in the end.

Read Next

Netflix Surprises Subscribers With One of the Best Comedies of 2025

The storytelling structure isn’t anything special, but it works perfectly for the movie they are trying to make. Following a camp that requires money to stay open, the film repeats elements from films like Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, but does enough to stand out on its own. It may be easy to see what direction the film is heading in, but the journey is well worth it.

Theater Camp Has Some of the Best Child Performances in Years

Getting good child performances, and especially directing them, is an extremely hard task for filmmakers, but the crew behind Theater Camp does a near-perfect job of getting great child performances. Donovan Colan and Kyndra Sanchez are the easy standouts, with Colan’s struggle in finding himself expressed beautifully through his performance, while Sanchez’ love for the arts is felt through every song and dance number. It takes a skilled actor to portray roles like theirs, and the fact that young children were able to pull of the role is extremely impressive.

Ben Platt and Molly Gordon are great as the two protagonists. Being in theater productions as children, with the film showing actual footage of the two performing together, Platt and Gordon put their real-world experiences to fully flesh out their characters. Although the conflict about their career wasn’t as strong as it could’ve been, their natural chemistry and passion for the roles made their characters always watchable.

The supporting camp counselors also deliver great performances. Noah Galvin portrays the fixer-upper turned theater star perfectly, with their monotonous sense of humor adding a lot of comedic self-awareness to the film. Ayo Edibiri, despite a smaller role, is great as a counselor who lies in her interview to get the job. Watching her struggle to teach a class of theater kids brought many of the film’s standout sequences, with her use of tone and diction driving the comedy to new heights. This performance differs from her other work in films like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, showing her vast range as an actress.

Theater Camp may not be changing the game for comedies, but its constantly hilarious setpieces and pure love for theater make it a fulfilling watch from start to finish. Including a group of young actors bound to be this generation’s next big stars, this is a film that deserves way more love than it has received. Just like actors in a play, this film deserves its flowers.

Theater Camp is available to stream on Hulu.