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CURE THE SUMMERTIME BLUES
As summer winds down, I'm still suffering
from the summertime blues, which makes no
sense at all considering that I am a slave to
Corporate America and summer is no longer a
holiday, just a time of year I show up to work
with embarrassing back-and-boob sweat Maybe
it's nostalgia, but, like all summers before, this
one sped by faster than the one before it And as
a cross-country move and job change consumed
the greater part of it, I decided to have some
last-minute summer fun with a Heineken tall-boy
and two of my favorite summer camp films. Well,
two of my favorite summer films that both inci
dentally are centered around summer camp. Both
films are slightly subversive, rarer comedies. Both
have incredible soundtracks, and both are the
focus of this week's column.
LITTLE DARLINGS (R) 1980. Ahhh, the things
early-1980s comedies could get away with: pre-
pubescent girls jumping on trampolines and frol
icking in bikinis, chain-smoking kids and fabulous
winged hairdos. Little Darlings' cover art sums
things up best: 'The bet is on: Whoever lose, her
virginity first, wins.’ That's basically it, and while
it sounds and is cheesy and smutty, it plays out
into a rather enjoyable and innocent film.
Angel (Kristy McNichol) and Ferris (Tatum
O'Neal) couldn't be more opposite. Angel's a
rough tomboy who smokes cowboy killers, throws
a mean fastball and wears tight-fitting jeans.
Ferris, on the other hand,
is a well-cultured debu
tante with a delicate voice
and face full of freckles.
The girls clash on the
bus to summer camp, and
when it is revealed that
they are both still virgins,
camp floozy Cinder (Krista
Errikson) pits one girl
against the other in a
cherry poppin' competi
tion.
Angel's target: R3ndy
(sexylicious, fresh-faced
Matt Dillon), a 17-year-
old playboy who shares
Angel's lack of couth and
tight tushie. For Ferris,
the goal is to score with
camp counselor Gary
(Armand Assante), a
French teacher with an in
credible chest-full of hair
who bears an uncanny
resemblance to Dudley Moore. The synchronized
seduction gets off to a rather interesting start
as Ferris attempts to lure Gary by "drowning" in
the pool to score some private swimming les
sons. Angel, who meets Randy while helping in
a condom machine heist, hooks Randy with beer
and cigarettes.
I won't reveal who wins the bet or ruin your
viewing pleasure with a spoiler. But I will say
that everyone leaves camp with a greater sense
of moral obligation... and a kinky story to tell to
their friends. Also, the film's soundtrack is dy
namite, including John Lennon, Blondie and the
Bellamy Brothers. Grade: A
WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER (R) 2001. LA
Weekly critic Manohla Dargis best summed up this
film in one sentence, "Like, you know, genius.
But, like, why?" Although I disagree with Dargis'
low rating of the film (60), I think Wet Hot
American Summer possesses a certain je ne e'est
quoi that makes it one of the most hilarious and
underappreciated films of the past decade.
Written by Michael Showalter and David Wain
(both veterans of MT\Ts "The State" and Comedy
Central's "Stella"), the film is a parody of '80s
bubble-gum flicks, specifically those about sum
mer camp. Members, of "The State" cast, includ
ing Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, Ken
Marino and Joe Lo Truglio, along with bigger-
namers David Hyde Pierce, Janeane Garofalo, Amy
Poehler, Christopher Meloni, Paul Rudd and Molly
Shannon, play young counsel
ors at Camp Firewood, a Jewish
summer camp. The film's pretty
much plotless (unless the
parody can be considered the
plot), but it doesn't need a
plot. Being senseless is part of
its appeal. Set in 1981, on the
last day of camp, the comedy
centers around the counselors'
unfinished business, affairs
that collide and intersect un
til the entire cast is brought
together at Camp Firewood's
Talent Night.
I can't write a review of
this film without mention
ing one of THE most hilarious
comedic scenes ever directed,
one often referred to on YouTube as "Going to
Town." Camp Director Beth (Garofalo) jacks the
camp truck to drive into the city. A request from
one counselor for personal lubricant hijacks her
errand and turns it into a massive field-trip for
the counselors. And like all good counselors, the
youth engage-in a myriad of illegal and illicit be
havior. Set to Rick Springfield's "Love is Alright
Tonight," the counselors start off eating french
fries and ice cream, laugh
ing and joking around,
and their recreation
quickly escalates to smok
ing cigarettes and drink
ing beer, then mugging an
old woman, then scoring a
ginormous bag of cocaine,
and finally shooting up
heroin and smoking crack
with homeless people. The
scene ends with Beth pull
ing back into Firewood,
counselors in the cab,
with counselor JJ com
menting, "I love going
into town, even if it's only
for 45 minutes." You have
to see it to really appreci
ate it
Sadly, Wet Hot
American Summer has nev
er gotten the accolades
it truly deserves. I still
find people responding
"Wet Hot Ameri-what?" whenever I mention the
film. Like I said, the film was ferociously under
promoted. Then, add a bawdy, absurd sense of
humor, a homosexual love scene and several Jew
jokes to the mix, and the film is completely lost
to mainstream viewers. Whatever, I'll continue to
preach the Wet Hot American Summer gospel as
long as I can "hump this fridge." Grade: A*
Robin Beridlt
Little Darlings
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