Theater Camp
Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: July 14, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 41 Critic Reviews
Positive:
33
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinAug 25, 2023
Theater Camp’s comedy springs entirely from personality: the jokes aren’t really quotable because they depend on you knowing who’s making them to work. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshJul 16, 2023
This madcap mockumentary works beautifully because Gordon, Lieberman, Platt and Galvin take care to imbue this setting with a real sense of culture and place, populated with wonderfully eccentric characters. Read full review
91
ConsequenceMary SirokyJan 27, 2023
There’s so much heart throughout Theater Camp — it also doesn’t overstay its welcome, landing at a tight 94 minutes packed to the minute with visual gags and quick comments you don’t want to miss. Read full review
91
IndieWireKate ErblandJan 27, 2023
Being a theater geek isn’t required to enjoy Theater Camp, but it certainly can’t hurt. Mostly, though, this is just funny and smart and sweet stuff, a crowdpleaser for the misfit in all of us. Read full review
88
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenDec 29, 2023
There are plenty of big laughs to be found in Theater Camp—Ayo Edibiri pops up to steal a few scenes—but it’s this ability to weave self-deprecation with theatrical passion that distinguishes the movie. Read full review
88
ObserverOliver JonesJul 17, 2023
The sense of joy that emanates from nearly every frame of Theater Camp, a film that arrived like a burst of July sunshine in the January frost of this year’s Sundance, is as palpable as grease paint and every bit as sweet as bug juice. Read full review
85
The AtlanticShirley LiJul 21, 2023
An endearing look at creativity as well as a surprisingly poignant reminder that most artists succeed not through individual genius, but by being part of a community. Read full review
85
TheWrapCarlos AguilarJan 27, 2023
Many of the mile-per-minute quips and hilariously biting remarks in Theater Camp will surely enter the collective consciousness once the general public has access to them. Read full review
83
Original-CinThom ErnstJul 21, 2023
While so many movies lack a decent wrap-up, Theatre Camp goes out on a high note. You might not walk out humming show tunes, but you will leave smiling. After all, no one does curtain calls better than theatre people. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeAug 24, 2023
Theater Camp is itself shamelessly infatuated with the great American musical, but it also enjoys poking affectionate fun at the kids’ creative tunnel vision. Read full review
80
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyAug 24, 2023
Theater Camp has no shortage of actors lining up to poke fun at the self-indulgence of their own vocation. Read full review
80
The GuardianLeaf ArbuthnotAug 23, 2023
It’s a zippy 90 minutes or so, and packed with jokes. Gordon is note perfect as Rebecca-Diane, the camp’s folksy music teacher. Read full review
80
EmpireSophie ButcherAug 22, 2023
Relentless gags, spot-on performances and dazzling showtunes to boot — Theater Camp is a feel-good delight, and a sign of impressive directorial talent from Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman. Read full review
80
Time OutPhil de SemlyenAug 16, 2023
A mockumentary as sparky, big-hearted and entertaining as its cast of bright-eyed kids and the wannabe thesps who coach them in the ways of ‘turning cardboard into gold’. The affection for musical theatre is so sincere, it’ll win over even the most Sondheim-averse. Read full review
80
SlateDan KoisJul 13, 2023
It’s all captured vérité-style by the filmmakers, who, like everyone else in this utterly sweet production, display great affection for the totally foolish theater kids (of all ages) who inhabit this world. Read full review
80
The New York TimesAmy NicholsonJul 13, 2023
Clearly, the actors feel their characters in their bones. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJul 20, 2023
Born of a years-long collaboration by Ben Platt, Molly Gordon, Noah Galvin and Nick Lieberman (which included a proof-of-concept short film), with all four writing the screenplay and Gordon and Lieberman co-directing, Theater Camp is an affectionate and winning yet sometimes bittersweet satire created by a talented quartet who clearly know the territory quite well. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJul 18, 2023
Lieberman and Gordon direct this almost family affair with a touch that is paradoxically light yet broad, from a screenplay expanded from their 2020 short by the same name. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubBrent SimonJul 13, 2023
It’s constructed from the inside out, all of its characters and energy flowing from a genuine place. Read full review
75
ColliderRoss BonaimeFeb 9, 2023
Theater Camp isn’t without its weaknesses, but the hilarious cast—like their characters—are game for anything, and the jokes are flying fast and mostly landing. Read full review
75
Paste MagazineJacob OllerJan 30, 2023
If you’re down for a light comedy with a very specific audience, pitched somewhere between Wet Hot American Summer and John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch, AdirondACTS welcomes you (and your prepared monologue—you did prepare a monologue, right?) with open arms. Read full review
75
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiJan 27, 2023
This comedy soars squarely on small moments and big jokes. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicKaely MonahanJul 17, 2023
If you were a theater kid, this movie will feel like an inside joke written just for you. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreJul 14, 2023
Theater Camp really just wants to bask in the world it’s created, and it’s hard to complain about something being too affectionate. Read full review
70
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzJul 12, 2023
Regrettably, Theater Camp doesn’t have a wide enough scope to zoom out from its extremely specific landscape to turn its inside jokes outward, nor an ironic enough detachment from the material that it’s riffing on. Read full review
70
Screen RantTatiana HullenderFeb 3, 2023
Theater Camp won't be for everyone, but thespians and drama geeks will find themselves right at home, and even laymen may find more than a few laughs. Read full review
70
Vanity FairEsther ZuckermanJan 27, 2023
With the adult actors playing zany characters, the kids’ genuine passion and skills ground the movie. Their performances make you believe in the mission of the camp, and may even have you wiping away tears. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisJul 12, 2023
Theater Camp may not qualify as a 24-carat enterprise, but when it occasionally shines, it glimmers with a love for the transformative magic of the stage. Read full review
67
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodJan 27, 2023
The best news is that the songs, by Galvin, Gordon, Lieberman, Platt, and Mark Sonnenblick (“Spirited,” “Lyle Lyle Crocodile”) were written beforehand. Those compositions contribute to the one-time-only musical performance that practically saves the movie. The songs and staging of the show are simply hilarious. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 17, 2023
It isn’t until the “camp” is shoved upstage and the kids and their Big Theater Show step downstage and into the light that “Theater Camp” finds its heart and hits its best notes. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 14, 2023
The movie doesn’t need higher stakes, really, or more conflict; what’s there is fine, but the flights of deadpan insanity only fly so high. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireJul 14, 2023
You may not walk out humming the tunes, but you’ll leave with a smile. Read full review
63
The Associated PressJake CoyleJul 12, 2023
Theater Camp might have worked better with a “Meatballs”-style structure, focusing on a camper and a counselor. But it knows how to put on a show. With songs written by the screenwriters and Mark Sonnenblick, Theater Camp in the end hits just the right note between satire and sincere. Read full review
60
Screen DailyTim GriersonJan 27, 2023
Theater Camp is ultimately too uneven and unfocused to earn a curtain call, but like its marginally talented protagonists, it does its best with what it has. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJan 27, 2023
This is the first feature for Gordon and Lieberman and there’s little evidence of a visual sense, even if the rough edges are part of the appeal. But perhaps due to the elements of improvisation, the comic timing is uneven and the material tends to be more often cute than uproarious. Read full review
50
Little White LiesSaskia Lloyd GaigerAug 24, 2023
It contains an effervescent combination of haste, impassioned nostalgia, and genuine affection between cast and crew. Going full method is to be commended, but the result is a back-slapping sesh that forgets its satirical intentions somewhere along the way. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisJul 17, 2023
Theater Camp, a mockumentary about a summer workshop for thespian adolescents, offers plenty of theater and plenty of camp, to the point that it often plays like one, big inside joke. But the film offsets its drama class insularity with a rousing message that the stage will always be a magical place for children to dream — and to discover themselves. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDerek SmithJul 7, 2023
The film feels like sitting through extended acting exercises where everyone is giving it 110% every take. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 27, 2023
Mostly, audiences are stuck watching everybody trying to be funny: testing out one-liners, singing off-key, panhandling for laughs. Running jokes trip over their own shoelaces. Read full review
40
The GuardianAdrian HortonJan 27, 2023
For all the grand gestures of musical theater, there’s an odd flatness to Theater Camp, a half-hearted and lackluster comedy from a group of Hollywood friends set at a summer performing arts community. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonJul 20, 2023
This musical should have taken center stage in Theater Camp. The dreadful story surrounding it deserves to get the hook. Read full review
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