Wet Hot American Summer

USA 2001, 93 minutes
Dir. David Wain
Rating: [R16]
Genres: Comedy, Cult / Spoof, Youth

Topics: Period 1980s.

Feat. Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Marguerite Moreau, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Bradley Cooper

Aroview: Set in the charmingly unhip summer-camp 'Camp Firewood', this wettingly hilarious satire of 1970s and 80s culture, mores and cliches is sweet-natured and yet at heart, completely unhinged.

Set over the course of a single day in 1981, when it is feared that the space station Skylab might hurtle to Earth, a ragtag bunch of nerds, jocks, neurotic counselors, and psychos undergo the customary social rites of the era. While essentially a parody of screen hits like 'Meatballs', this displays gratifying respect for getting right the precise details of time and place - a lost world of pre-Reagan innocence that may resonate with many viewers. Devised by members of the MTV alternative comedy group 'The State'.

Incredible Film Fest 2002