Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

Set on the last day of camp, in the hot summer of 1981, a group of counselors try to complete their unfinished business before the day ends.

Director:

David Wain

Writers:

Michael Showalter, David Wain

Stars:

Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Janeane Garofalo	...	Beth
David Hyde Pierce	...	Henry Newman
Michael Showalter	...	Gerald 'Coop' Cooperberg / Alan Shemper
Marguerite Moreau	...	Katie
Michael Ian Black	...	McKinley
Zak Orth	...	J.J.
A.D. Miles	...	Gary
Paul Rudd	...	Andy
Christopher Meloni	...	Gene
Molly Shannon	...	Gail von Kleinenstein
Ken Marino	...	Victor
Joe Lo Truglio	...	Neil
Amy Poehler	...	Susie
Bradley Cooper	...	Ben
Gideon Jacobs	...	Aaron

Storyline

The setting is Camp Firewood, the year 1981. It's the last day before everyone goes back to the real world, but there's still a summer's worth of unfinished business to resolve. At the center of the action is camp director Beth, who struggles to keep order while she falls in love with the local astrophysics professor. He is busy trying to save the camp from a deadly piece of NASA's Skylab which is hurtling toward earth. All that, plus: a dangerous waterfall rescue, love triangles, misfits, cool kids, and talking vegetable cans. The questions will all be resolved, of course, at the big talent show at the end of the day.

---

Plot Keywords:

love | year 1981 | rescue | waterfall | love triangle | 

---

Taglines:

It was the last day of summer camp. It was the first day of the third week in August.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, language and a drug sequence

Details

Official Sites:

Eureka Pictures

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 April 2002 (Czech Republic)

Also Known As:

Gyagyák a gatyában, avagy tudom, kit fűztél tavaly nyáron

Filming Locations:

Honesdale, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$17,481 (USA) (27 July 2001)

Gross:

$292,102 (USA) (5 October 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eureka Pictures, North Coast Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2011, Paul Rudd told Entertainment Weekly that he was literally not sure he ever got paid for this movie - he thinks that because the budget and the production staff were both so incredibly small, they may have just overlooked making out a check for his salary.

---

Goofs

Coop talks about the Style Council (Paul Weller's band after the Jam broke up). The movie takes place in 1981, but the Jam didn't break up until 1982 and the Style Council didn't form until 1983.

---

Quotes

Gary: Hey Abby, I thought this was a different bunk.
Abby Bernstein: No.
Gary: Am I bothering you?

---

Crazy Credits

After the credits is a "10 years later" epilogue.

---

Connections

Referenced in American pie présente Campus en folie (2007)

---

Soundtracks

Beth
Written by Peter Criss, Stanley Penridge and Robert Ezrin (as Bob Ezrin)
Performed by KISS
Courtesy of Rock Steady Music

User Reviews

A mixed bag of a summer camp film

This movie defintely has its high and low points, the plot concerns the last day of camp in 1981 at a small Jewish summer camp in Maine. It's meant as a parody of all those late 70s, early 80s teen sex romps like Porky's and Meatballs, and while some of the parodies are dead on, others fall rather flat. Perhaps the funniest moment concerns some of the counselors "hour-long" trip into town which starts out innocently but then degrades into a drugged-out parody where the kids start out smoking cigarettes and quickly go to robbing old ladies to feed their newfound cocaine and heroin addictions. Other high points include the Vietnam veteran cook, the loony arts & crafts instructor, and even the children deciding not to play baseball against the anonymously evil-rival camp because they just don't feel like it. A lot of the movie seems more like a bunch of strung together sketches, which adds to its weakness. However, it is fun to see the return of the bad haircuts, too-short shorts, and high socks that made up that era, along with some great early 80s rock hits.