February 2004

Talking About Wet Hot American Summer
A Rented Movie Review

Godzilla, and nearly everyone else in the world, lost a ton of credibility with me after I watched "A Mighty Wind." They all were telling me, "It's sooo funny," and "those guys are always great." Well, that movie was a miserable, disgusting piece of garbage. It was not only unfunny, watching it made me incapable of laughing for three days. My brain went on strike. My brain also reminded me of all those jerks who told me to see that heap of refuse. They are on my shit-list, at least for the moment.

Godzilla's been riding my ass about seeing "Wet Hot American Summer" for ten years. It's not that I did not want to see it, it's just that I never got around to renting it. But, after the "Wind" fiasco, Godzilla needed a boost to his credibility. If WHAS did not suck, it would be his ticket out of the dog-house.

It sure was.

This movie could not suck, ever. It's a spoof of the classic 1970-80's summer camp movies. This camp, in upstate New York, has reached the end of the summer. Each camper has only 24 hours to tie up every possible loose end. Lust must be consummated, and battles must be won. This is the best time of their lives!

You will recognize a number of actors, but the king of the movie is Paul Rudd. You may remember him from "Clueless", at least I do. He plays the insensitive stud. He is a genius. Why he did not win an MTV Movie Award for his "picking up that mess" scene, I'll never know.

The scenes, pieced together by a super-intelligent monkey, vary from ha-funny to what-the-fuck funny. One might guess that this movie was made in very much the same way "A Mighty Wind" was, placing a number of talented actors in scenes with as little direction as possible. Of course, in AMW, the actors, with the acceptation of Fred Willard, totally dropped the ball. In WHAS, no one rested on their laurels. They poured on the funny.

The skinny-dipping scene may be my favorite of the film. Two camp counselors sneak down to the lake to watch some other teen-age girls go swimming. The camera flashed back and forth from the guys and the girls, who, by the way, never take off their clothes or notice the two guys standing near the shore. Occasionally, you see one or two girls taking off their tops, but when you flash back, their bikinis are still on.

The two guys lament that their friend, Dave, is not watching the wet ladies. They think he needs a woman. Just then, you see Dave enter a small shed, take off his clothes, and screw a blonde guy. It's very hot and very sweaty. The white, stripped gym socks rock back and forth on the ground while they screw. It's priceless.

For the moment, Godzilla is no longer on my shit-list. Wet Hot American Summer is wicked awesome, and you should book it down to the video store and buy a copy for yourself.