Well, folks, Harry here with that scary cockroach fella, Gregor Samsa, who is transforming into an evasive field agent for AICN. Ya see... we only recruit the toughest critters. And ol Gregor Samsa would survive a nuclear winter, or walking about in a microwave... Amazing really. Hell, he even survived HAPPY CAMPERS, and folks... that wasn't that hard. Apparently it had it's problems, but he seems to think it just needs a little care here and there... to be exactly what it needs to be. But... welll, read for yourself...
Saw “Happy Campers” Daniel Waters’ directorial debut….here’s what it boils down to…
We all enjoyed Heathers. Waters proved he could write with that one….and followed it up with a mixed bag. He did story work on Batman Returns, but he also has writing credits on Hudson Hawke and Ford Fairlane. So he bats around .500 as a writer. Which is better than most. But he bats a big fat .111 as a director.
This movie tells the story of a group of teenagers who find themselves in charge of an entire summer camp when the head counselor Oberon, played energetically by Peter Stormare of Fargo fame, gets….well….“incapacitated.’ So our hero, Witchita (Brad Renfro), is forced to take command of the kiddies and the comedy ensues. There are so many things wrong with Renfro’s character, the list could be rather long. I’ll start with his name. Witchita? Like Kansas? Huh? Oh, I see…he’s got a screwy name, so he must be brooding and poetic. Oh yeah, and why is he brooding and poetic? Who the hell knows…the cutest girl at the camp has the hots for him and he’s everyone’s favorite counselor. But I guess that is not enough for poor Witchita. His character’s mood changes from one scene to the next for no reason at all. One seen he’ll be chumming it up with the twelve year olds and the next he’ll be writing about how life sucks in his little poetry book. The premise is so weak. How could someone feel like such and outsider yet be on the top of everyone’s list as the coolest, nicest guy around? They don’t explain through the whole movie why or where his brooding side is coming from.
In charge of the camp along side Renfro are a bunch of relative newcomers. Including the amazingly attractive model James King. She plays Pixel, the crunchy hippie chic who, like as always in movies, nobody can tell is hot as hell until they see her in her underwear. But this is a good thing…probably the best thing about this movie are its gratuitous nude scenes where all the campers gather behind trees to spy Pixel taking dip in her birthday suit.
Dominique Swain does an excellent job in her portrayal of Wendy who is an emotional basket case. Try and picture that cheerleader in high school who was a little off since she fell of the top of the pyramid, well about like that times ten. Even though she is very much a goody goody kind of girl, she is hopelessly infatuated with Witchita. So strange, since he is such a rebel. Anyway, there are few more useless characters thrown in to fill the stereotype quota, but you can find out about them when you see the movie, although I doubt any of them will surprise you.
Now I did enjoy some of this movie. Following the twenty minute narrative introduction., there is some really funny stuff. If you enjoyed the jokes in American Pie, then the first act will definitely have you laughing pretty hard. Waters uses some pretty original ideas about what kids are actually doing behind those closed cabin doors. He us gives a whole new batch of pot and masturbation jokes, that are done in really bad taste, which is what makes them funny. But just as you are laughing and starting to get into these characters lives, a giant hurricane hits the camp. Along with squashing plans for a scavenger hunt, the hurricane derails the entire movie as well. There is this huge change of pace when this thing hits, it forgets about character development completely and falls into more mind numbing narrative and predictable teen angst drama.
At some point in this movie a joke is made which references the Breakfast Club. I have to point out, that just because you acknowledge the fact that your movie is ripping off a better John Hughes film from 15 years ago, it doesn’t make it right. I offer this suggestion….re-edit the entire film. Cut down on the narrative and let the story tell itself. We don’t need everything spelled out. The last twenty minutes was spent wrapping things up in a bitter sweet tone, which is fine, but the narrative (I know I am harping) ruins it. Maybe if more time was spent developing the characters I would care what they were thinking. Even though this movie doesn’t exactly have a point or any type of congruence, the first act definitely has a lot of funny scenes, and if the hurricane seen is edited differently they might be able make this movie work.
To the suits…please don’t shelve this movie…fix it…it can be saved.
Auf Wiedersehen from this side of the roach motel….
