This is one of the most sarcastic — yet affectionate — films I’ve ever seen.
Also one of the funniest.
 |
| Whilte the young cast members stare in nervous astonishment, Amos (Ben Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) interrupt a rehearsal to indulge in another of their many artistic arguments. |
Gordon and Lieberman’s mockumentary was a smash hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and took home the coveted U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award.
So … let the curtain rise!
With summer approaching, AdirondACTS founder Joan (Amy Sedaris) and general manager Rita (Caroline Aaron) once again scout local school theater productions, in order to entice kids to attend — and their parents to help fund — their scrappy upstate New York theater camp. Alas, this undertaking proves calamitous; the strobe effects during a production of Bye, Bye Birdie send Joan into a shock coma.
(The fact that this crisis is milked for humor, gives a sense of how edgy the script will be.)
Responsibility for overseeing the summer’s activities therefore falls to Joan’s oblivious “crypto bro” son, Troy (Jimmy Tatro), a clueless failure-to-launch who probably didn’t graduate junior high school. His arrival coincides with busloads of eager young thespians, which horrifies Rita and the rest of the staff, notably drama instructors Amos (Ben Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon). Their goal: to keep Troy the hell away from day-to-day activities.
Alas, Troy is so dense that he can’t take even sledge-hammer hints. His effort to introduce himself to the assembled children, on the first morning, totally fails to quell the eager chatter of reuniting friends and eager newcomers.
Then Amos grabs the microphone and croons “Oh, what a beautiful…”
…at which point, all the kids snap to attention and sing, in unison, “morning!”
Right then, the film becomes can’t-miss captivating.
