Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, and BU alum Alfre Woodard bring septuagenarian charm to an otherwise conventional storyline.
By Dana Barbuto/Boston Movie News
Older actresses often get sidelined in Hollywood, relegated to fringe characters with minimal screen time. However, a recent wave of films like “Book Club,” “Poms,” and “80 for Brady” shows that this practice is changing. While these movies might be imperfect, their messages of female friendship and self-discovery resonate. “Summer Camp” follows this trend, featuring a trio of AARP-eligible all-stars: Academy Award-winners Diane Keaton and Kathy Bates, and Oscar-nominee Alfre Woodard, a graduate of Boston University. They play childhood best friends who reunite at Camp Pinnacle, the summer camp where they first bonded decades ago.
As their lives have diverged, the women have seen each other less often, but the camp reunion offers an opportunity to rekindle their friendship and reassess their lives. The script, from writer-director Castille Landon, unfortunately, turns each character into a suffocating “type” rather than a three-dimensional person. As usual, Keaton plays the uptight workaholic widower, Nora. Bates is the rebel, Ginny, a fun-loving self-help guru who drives around the country in her lavender tour bus spreading the gospel of “get your shit together.” Woodard, the most interesting of the bunch, is the overworked nurse, Mary, who sacrificed med school to raise a family. Eugene Levy and Dennis Haysbert round out the cast as the silver foxes, with Beverly D’Angelo leading the Pretty Committee, this movie’s version of Mean Girls.
The story begins in flashback with the women being shipped off to camp by their parents. There, they form an unlikely but lasting bond, navigating the twin pitfalls of puberty and archery. Fast-forward 50 years, and they have yet to keep the promise to remain close, leading to their reunion. The film’s setting in the great outdoors brings back memories of how cute Stevie D (Levy) was and provides opportunities for new adventures, such as whitewater rafting. Calamity ensues, of course.
“Summer Camp” is a very flawed film and relentlessly predictable. Each woman has a lesson to learn or an epiphany to experience, and their awakening comes right on cue. Ditto for the third-act falling out and requisite reconciliation. Keaton declaring herself “a bad bitch” is fun, though. The movie introduces important topics like marital woes or loneliness but then does nothing with them. Landon’s script barely scratches the surface. Instead, she dispatches the women on a series of episodic adventures, such as a cafeteria food fight or a pottery class, where they make what looks like a clay penis, prompting dialogue like “Ready to start drilling?” These scenes are so haphazardly connected that the narrative’s flow often feels choppy, never crystallizing into a cohesive whole.
Josh Peck takes a step down after “Oppenheimer,” playing the overused small-but-pivotal role that so many screenwriters rely on to set up something big. In this case, he’s the dimwitted camp counselor who keeps populating scenes in ridiculous ways, eventually becoming the wisest person on the screen. Go figure.
Despite its clichés, vibrator gags, and obvious jokes about silicone boobs doubling as flotation devices, the movie reminds us to find joy in the company of old friends. No matter your age, it’s OK to let your hair down, even if it’s just for a week at summer camp.
‘Summer Camp’
Rating: PG-13 for sexual material, strong language, and some underage smoking.
Cast: Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Dennis Haysbert, Eugene Levy, Josh Peck, Beverly D’ Angelo
Director: Castille Landon
Writer: Castille Landon
Running time: 96 minutes
Where to watch: In theaters Friday
Grade: C+
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