Ricky is the hottest water-ski instructor around and he has just be rehired by his former employer/camp to whip up attendance. But the camp is in serious financial trouble and the owner of ... See full summary »
Summer Camp highjinks centered around a camp counselor with a wacky sense of humor. He tries to help the campers have a good time. One camper named Rudy poses a particular challenge as he has a self-esteem problemWritten by
Robert Svacha <chisox@azstarnet.com>
The only one of the four "Meatballs" movies to feature Bill Murray. See more »
Goofs
When they are in the K-Mart parking lot picking up the campers, the buses are Chevrolets and GMC makes. When they get to Camp North-Star the buses have changed to Fords and a Dodge. See more »
Quotes
Tripper:
Mmmmm. Look at all those steaming wieners. Do you know what they're saying? They're saying, "This is the year that Fink beats 'The Stomach'."
[Fink picks up a hot dog and holds it to his ear]
Tripper:
No, it's a couple of them over here... but they're saying it.
See more »
Alternate Versions
The music played during the second half of the Olympiad is different in the U.S. and Canadian versions of the film. On the U.S. release, there are additional lyrics: "Go team go, Fight team fight..." etc. These lyrics are absent on the Canadian theatrical and VHS releases. The soundtrack is mostly instrumental. You can hear this alternate music on the French soundtrack of the region 1 DVD. See more »
Yes, it feels, and for the most part plays like an "after school special", for a slightly more adult audience, alright maybe a teen audience. But add in Bill Murray (already showing some dramatic as well as his usual comedic talent), a nice supporting cast, and an unexpected sweetness about growing up, and remembering those great, or not so great days at summer camp, and you get a heartwarming, funny, sleeper hit.
It does get a little too smarmy for its own good, but that is also one of its charms. When you hear the title "Meatballs", and see the poster, you expect a teenage sex romp, but what you get is a sentamental, yet sometimes sexy look back at those formative years at summer camp. The sentamentality, and the remberances of simpler times reminds me of "A Christmas Story", which I also love. The rememberances of summer camp were never so well stated. The only movie I've seen that comes close, is "Indian Summer", which I like almost as much as "Meatballs", and also stars Matt Craven. Let's hope he completes the trilogy. Maybe he could come back for "Return of the Meatballs", and bring some dignity back to the franchise (Meatballs 2 through 4 bare no resemblence to the original classic).
"Meatballs" is easily on my Top 10 Guilty Pleasures of all time (not really guilty either). It's a wonderful little film, that always makes me smile.
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Yes, it feels, and for the most part plays like an "after school special", for a slightly more adult audience, alright maybe a teen audience. But add in Bill Murray (already showing some dramatic as well as his usual comedic talent), a nice supporting cast, and an unexpected sweetness about growing up, and remembering those great, or not so great days at summer camp, and you get a heartwarming, funny, sleeper hit.
It does get a little too smarmy for its own good, but that is also one of its charms. When you hear the title "Meatballs", and see the poster, you expect a teenage sex romp, but what you get is a sentamental, yet sometimes sexy look back at those formative years at summer camp. The sentamentality, and the remberances of simpler times reminds me of "A Christmas Story", which I also love. The rememberances of summer camp were never so well stated. The only movie I've seen that comes close, is "Indian Summer", which I like almost as much as "Meatballs", and also stars Matt Craven. Let's hope he completes the trilogy. Maybe he could come back for "Return of the Meatballs", and bring some dignity back to the franchise (Meatballs 2 through 4 bare no resemblence to the original classic).
"Meatballs" is easily on my Top 10 Guilty Pleasures of all time (not really guilty either). It's a wonderful little film, that always makes me smile.