Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

Tasty and nutrition-free as a snow cone on a hot summer day, Wet Hot American Summer is a silly, hilarious throwback to those mildly smutty early-'80s teen comedies. It takes place on the last day of Camp Firewood's 1981 season, and it's everyone's last chance for romance, self-realization, and of course the Big Talent show. The movie is filled with brilliant comic performances; it looks like the cast just took over a summer camp and had a great time. Writers Michael Showalter and David Wain have captured the essence of parody: absolutely nailing the conventions of their subject, kidding the hell out of it, and all the while showing a real fondness for the genre. People unfamiliar with Meatballs and its many imitators may well be left cold by Wet Hot American Summer, but anyone born between 1965 and 1980 will love it. --Ali Davis Amazon.com

This movie is absolutely perfect in every conceivable way.

I'm not kidding. If this movie doesn't make you laugh you're a worse person than Hitler. Well, not Hitler, but definitely Goebbels. Then again, you might just not like it. You're probably somewhere between Goebbels and Gandhi. October 7, 2008

Camp Retarded

Absolute dribble! I did grow up on stupid comedies like Meatballs and Caddyshack, and this makes them seem like fine art. No fun to be found here, unless you're missing a large portion of your brain. This is a pathetic attempt to send up 80's teen movies. If you want silly parodies that can actually get a brief chuckle, you could always try the Leslie Nielsen films. Poor David Hyde Pierce and Janeane Garofalo, they really scraped the bottom of the barrel here. It's R16, so that rules out six year olds who might actually be interested (and appreciate the humour). There isn't even any nudity, which might have redeemed it a little in the eyes of teenagers. Totally tame and completely lame! (watch it with fast forward on) October 7, 2008

Are these reviewers on the payroll?

I bought this movie based on the reviews it recieved on Amazon - one reviewer even went so far as to say that it was the best comedy ever made! This was, bar none, the worst movie I've seen in 5 years. I don't think I laughed even once. These reviewers are either insane, high on crack, or (most likely) involved with the production/distribution of this movie. August 27, 2008

fabulous

i love this movie. it is hilarious and everything you want from a comedy. I would suggest this to anyone with a immature sense of humor. July 30, 2008

at times unwatchable, but still quite likeable

I checked this title out mainly because it stars Janeane Garofalo and David Hyde Pierce. Isn't Garofalo, despite her not being "hot" in Hollywood standards, such an actress who invariably infuses an immense charm to any movie she stars in? Simply by her being there? The beautiful and exotic landscape of rural Ireland plays its part, but it is largely her comic talent that saves the consistently mediocre romantic comedy The Matchmaker. To many, her dancing to the tune of My Sharona in Reality Bites will be even more unforgettable than Uma Thurman's in the "famous dancing scene" of Pulp Fiction. (*Both come from 1994).

As to David Hyde Pierce, I love and admire him in Frasier, for the obvious reason that he is a brilliant, brilliant, comedian. Wet Hot American Summer shows Pierce and Garofalo as each other's love intersest, which can be a reason enough to give it a chance. I had a few (not many, but, well, more than two) real laughs watching them. Even though the chemsitry is weak, the two are adorable. Further, it is unmistakable that the concept behind the movie and the overall "feel" of it is nothing but genial. So, while you may decide to call it quits 20 minutes before it ends, you still can leave it feeling somehow, and pleasantly, heart-warmed. June 9, 2008

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