''Camp'' is a 2003 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

written and directed by Todd Graff about an upstate New York

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

summer camp A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps ...

. The film is based on Graff's own experiences at a similar camp called Stagedoor Manor, where many scenes of the film were filmed. ''Camp'' was released in the United States on July 25, 2003, by

IFC Films Independent Film Company (formerly IFC Films) is an American film production and distribution company based in New York City, New York. It is an offshoot of IFC (U.S. TV channel), IFC, owned by AMC Networks. It mainly distributes independent fil ...

. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

The film centers on the experiences of several teenagers at Camp Ovation, a summer theatre camp. Shy Ellen Lucas greets her friend Michael Flores, a gay teenager who was violently beaten by his classmates after showing up to his junior prom in drag. Nerdy Fritzi Wagner attempts to befriend icy Jill Simmons, but ends up toting her luggage instead. Returning camper Jenna Malloran laments that her parents forced her to have her jaw wired shut in order to lose weight. The campers are surprised by the arrival of Vlad Baumann, a handsome new camper who is, as a staff member marvels, "an honest-to-god straight boy." The camp enlists a guest counselor for the summer: composer Bert Hanley, whose play "''The Children's Crusade''" was a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

many years earlier. Frustrated with his lack of recent success, he is now a grumpy alcoholic. Vlad and Ellen flirt a bit after rehearsal one day. Soon afterward, Vlad is seduced by Jill, who later makes cruel cracks at Ellen for her weight and her inexperience with boys. Feeling guilty, Vlad comforts Ellen and the two begin to inch toward a relationship. After Fritzi is caught washing Jill's underwear, Jill expresses her disgust with Fritzi and kicks her out of the cabin. Enraged, Fritzi sabotages Jill's next performance and takes her place mid-song, revealing her previously hidden talent. Vlad convinces Michael to invite his parents to his next play. When they fail to show, Michael flees the stage mid-performance. Vlad reveals to Michael that he has his own hidden problem: Vlad has

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Obsession may refer to: Psychology * Celebrity worship syndrome, obsessive addictive disorder to a celebrity's personal and professional life * Obsession (psychology), a persistent attachment to an object or idea * Fixation (psychology), persi ...

and must take medication to make life bearable. Hanley gets into a drunken rage and tells the campers that theater will only make them bitter and lonely like himself. Vlad finds a trove of music that Hanley has written over the years but not released. During a rehearsal for the camp's benefit performance, Vlad and the campers sing one of Hanley's songs. Hanley's heart is lifted and his disposition changes. Shortly before the benefit, Michael sleeps with Dee, Ellen's roommate, out of frustration about his unrequited crush on Vlad. Vlad and Dee end up making out on Dee's bed, and Ellen walks in on them. She runs off, hurt, and refuses to talk to Vlad. The night of the benefit concert arrives, and the campers are starstruck as famed composer

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

is in attendance. The dressing room atmosphere is tense, and gets even more awkward when Vlad's girlfriend Julie shows up to see him. Fritzi sabotages Jill's makeup, causing her to break out in boils. Jill attacks her, injuring her, and both are unfit to go onstage. To replace her, Bert cuts the wires on Jenna's mouth, allowing her to sing a powerful song directed to her parents in the audience, telling them to accept her as she is. The benefit is a hit, but Vlad, Michael, and Ellen are still arguing. Vlad admits that he is an "attention junkie" and attempts to please everyone in order to gain their good favor. Vlad explains that he still cares about Ellen and that his girlfriend Julie had just broken up with him. After another apology, Ellen forgives him, and the three go swimming.

Cast

* Daniel Letterle as Vlad Baumann * Joanna Chilcoat as Ellen Lucas * Robin de Jesús as Michael Flores *

Anna Kendrick Anna Cooke Kendrick (born August 9, 1985) is an American actress. Known for playing upbeat and endearing characters in comedies and musicals, List of awards and nominations received by Anna Kendrick, her accolades include nominations for an Aca ...

as Fritzi Wagner * Alana Allen as Jill Simmons * Vince Rimoldi as Spitzer * Don Dixon as Bert Hanley * Tiffany Taylor as Jenna Malloran * Sasha Allen as Dee * Eddie Clark and Leslie Frye as Mr. and Mrs. Malloran * David Perlow as Ben Lucas * DeQuina Moore as DeQuina * Steven Cutts as Shaun *

as himself The movie is notable as the film debut of future Academy Award nominee

, future three-time Tony nominee Robin de Jesús, future '' The Voice'' contestant Sasha Allen, and future Broadway performers DeQuina Moore, Steven Cutts, Tracee Beazer, and Brittany Pollack.

Production

The film was produced by Jersey Films,

, John Wells Productions, Killer Films, and Laughlin Park Pictures. Most of the film was shot on location at Stagedoor Manor camp in Loch Sheldrake, New York, as well as other brief scenes in Manhattan.

Soundtrack

The movie notably features a song co-written by

Michael Gore Michael Gore (born March 5, 1951) is an American composer. He is the younger brother of singer Lesley Gore. Biography A 1969 graduate of the Dwight-Englewood School, Gore received the school's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2004. Gore, along wi ...

, who had previously won the

Academy Award For Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

and the

Academy Award For Best Original Score The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by ...

(both from the 1980 film, Fame). The album ''Camp (Music from the Motion Picture)'' was released on the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

/ UMG label in 2003. It comprises 14 tracks: A book with the sheet music was also published.

Reception

Box office

In the opening weekend, the film made $54,294. It came in ranking at #45, showing at only 3 theaters in the United States and averaging $18,098. The film's widest release took place in the UK where it showed in 116 theaters. It ran for 12 weeks and closed on October 16, 2003. It has grossed $1,629,862 since 2003. The film also hit several top 100 charts for films in numerous categories. It is number 96 in the genre of gay/lesbian independent films, 78 for yearly PG-13 movies for 2003, and ranked 198 for the year 2003.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has a 64% approval rating, based on 107 reviews with an average rating of 5.93/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Campy comedy that squeaks by on its charms." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

of critics' reviews, the film has a score of 55 out of 100 based on 32 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Margaret A. McGurk of ''

The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, altho ...

'' says "Like the prodigies on screen, ''Camp'' powers through its imperfections, with irresistible results." C.W. Nevius of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' said in his review, "There is lots of music and a genuine showstopper when Jenna sings 'Here's Where I Stand' with such emotion that even her hardheaded dad gets the message." In ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', David Ansen wrote, "''Camp'' may not be as slick as '' Fame'', but it's twice as funny and loads more honest." In February 2025, it topped ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''s list of "The 25 best movie musicals of the 21st century," with Naveen Kumar writing "You don't need formative experience with sleepaway theater camp to appreciate this winning love letter to the joys and mortifications of growing up," and Ty Burr adding "...the characters come alive when they sing and so does the movie — the musical numbers can make you fizzy with rapture."

Award nominations

''Camp'' received nominations for the following awards: * 2004, Artios Award for Best Casting for Feature Film, Independent, Bernard Telsey * 2004, Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance, Anna Kendrick * 2004, Golden Satellite Award for Best Original Score, Stephen Trask, and Best Original Song, Bob Telson and Lee Breuer (For the song “How Shall I See You Through My Tears”) * 2003, Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

, Todd Graff

Sequel

Todd Graff promoted an

Indiegogo Indiegogo is an American crowdfunding website founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowd funding. Indiegogo allows peo ...

campaign in 2015 to fund a sequel. Rather than treat the original as a previous year at Camp Ovation, the plot would frame ''Camp'' as a movie filmed on the campgrounds.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Camp 2003 films 2003 directorial debut films 2003 independent films 2003 LGBTQ-related films 2000s American films 2000s English-language films 2000s musical comedy-drama films 2000s Spanish-language films 2000s teen comedy-drama films American independent films American musical comedy-drama films American teen comedy-drama films American teen LGBTQ-related films American teen musical films Cross-dressing in American films English-language independent films English-language musical comedy-drama films Films about actors Films about musical theatre Films about summer camps Films set in summer camps Films directed by Todd Graff Films produced by Christine Vachon Films produced by Danny DeVito Films scored by Stephen Trask Films set in New York (state) Films shot in New York (state) Films with screenplays by Todd Graff Gay-related films Killer Films films LGBTQ-related coming-of-age comedy-drama films LGBTQ-related musical comedy-drama films 2003 musical films