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:

The owners of Camp Towanda (where the movie was filmed) were told that this was going to be a family comedy. They were mortified when they saw the final cut of the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: The children change in front of J.J. during the final camp show.

Quotes:

Gail: I hope you like shrimp cocktail, because I want you to be guests of honor at our wedding next week!
Beth: Well, I hope it's not jumbo shrimp, because I'm allergic to oxymorons!

Movie Connections:

References "Star Trek" (1966)

Soundtrack:

Higher and Higher

God Damn! I love this movie!!!

Within a week after my first viewing of "WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER", I've seen it at least five more times... and, it hasn't left my DVD player since.

If you've ever seen the MTV series "The State", then you know just how brilliant David Wain and Michael Showalter are. As for the rest of the cast, well, I was extremely pleased to see Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio and Michael Ian Black (all from "The State", as well), adding to the fun.

Yes, you've got your headliners, Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce and Molly Shannon, who all do a fantastic job, but the real stars are the supporting cast, Paul Rudd (who I just have to mention, starred in the underrated gem, "OVERNIGHT DELIVERY"), Marguerite Moreau, Zak Orth, A.D. Miles, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper, Marisa Ryan and Elizabeth Banks are also terrific. And, let's not forget the great Christopher Meloni. He's definitely a new fave of mine. Good, good stuff. I can't praise it enough.

All I can say is this, most folks won't dig it, that's because they are idiots and have no true appreciation for comedy. As for all of us, we get the joke... and, that's a special, warm, gooey feeling between the toes... a feeling no one else can take away from us.

Well, now it's time for me to go. I've got to spread some mud on my ass.

Seriously, kids... It's time for a sequel.