A great comedy that didn’t get its time to shine in theaters this summer.

Score: 4.5/5

What a pleasant gem of a movie that I am kicking myself for not seeing in theaters for the one week or so it was available to see. Among the many movies that bombed because of Barbenhiemer, this little indie comedy was kept from ever getting its moment to show you why it was worth saving. Which ironically would have been the dark ending to this uplifting comedy about a bunch of theater kids, eccentric theater adult counselors, and a bro influencer camp owner working together to save their camp from a hostile takeover. This movie has heart and humor for days, with a cast that is clearly having a blast and doesn’t overstay its welcome. A top-class comedy that, the more I think about it, the more I’m pissed it didn’t get released this fall with more room to breathe at the box office.

This movie is shot like a documentary, which in the beginning is supposed to be about Joan Rubinsky, who runs a theater summer camp, among other life accomplishments. That quickly changes when Joan goes into a coma and leaves the camp in the hands of her son Troy. Troy never paid attention to his mom’s camp or theater and instead grew up to be an influencer bro type. With this shift, the movie follows the entire camp’s focus on an original musical focused on Joan’s life and Troy’s baffling attempts at finding ways to keep the bank from foreclosing the camp due to unpaid bills.

While the cast is impressive all around (make no mistake, this movie has a bunch of excellent child and teen actors), it’s the four main leads, Ben Platt’s Amos, Molly Gordon’s Rebecca-Diane, Noah Galvin’s Glenn, and Jimmy Tatro’s Troy, that are the center of this story. Amos and Rebecca-Diane play best friend theater kids turned adults who kept their friendship and passion alive through the camp. This relationship and how it both helps and harms each other is so fun to watch. On the other end, Troy is challenged and learns so much about what makes this camp so special (and, in turn, his mother) through Glenn, who holds all the productions together as the key behind-the-scenes manager of the camp’s many productions. There are so many payoffs on these dynamics, both in humor and in heart, that makes for such a fun time.

All the misfires and drama lead up to a grand finale of the music itself, Joan Still. It’s everything the last 85% of the movie is packed into a highly entertaining race to the finish. This movie is also so tight in pacing that it lends itself so well to that feeling that you’ll want to watch this again and again.

For me, this movie is this year’s Booksmart. It has all the right elements, a great cast, a smart script, and a fun direction. It’s a movie that will join my list of comedies I’ll come back to for years to come. For anyone who enjoys quirky indie comedies, this is a must-watch.