• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Lieff Ink

TELL YOUR STORY

  • About
  • Services
    • Writing • Editing
    • PR
    • Writing Tutor
  • Words
  • Press
  • Blog
  • Clients
    • Client List
    • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Book
    • Accolades
    • Reviews

Netflix Resurrects “Wet Hot American Summer”

August 17, 2015

wet-hot-american-summer-posterHave you seen the movie Wet Hot American Summer? Most likely the answer is “no” unless you’re a cult movie fan or you were an early follower of the now-comedic royalty that made up the 2001 ensemble cast. Featuring Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Michael Showalter, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Ian Black, Bradley Cooper and Amy Poehler, among others, the film is about the last day of summer camp in 1981 at the fictional Camp Firewood. Based on experiences the writers had at summer sleep-away camps in Maine and Massachusetts, the movie’s premise was to make fun of and pay tribute to summer camp comedies like Meatballs (1979), Sleepaway Camp (1983) and Indian Summer (1993). Even with the powerhouse cast, the movie was initially a commercial failure but became a cult classic.

I saw Wet Hot American Summer a few years after it came out and I remember thinking that although it had some funny parts it was just ok. That being said, as someone who spent several summers of my youth at camp, I did appreciate all the summer camp parodies and I loved seeing Garofalo and Shannon (the movie’s biggest stars at that point) play camp counselors. Now that Cooper, Rudd, Banks and Poehler are a few of my favorites, I really should watch the movie again especially the scene where all the counselors go “into town” and are absolutely out of control. They drink, do drugs and basically act like animals being let out their cages. It’s amazing.

Another funny aspect of the movie is in 2001 most of the actors were in their 30s and early 40s even though they are supposed to be playing teenage counselors. No one ever talked about the age discrepancies in the movie and no one seemed to care. Fast forward 14 years later and Netflix decided to revisit the cult classic by creating a prequel that stars everyone from the original cast. Now those actors are in their 40s and early 50s playing teenagers and again no one cares. It’s brilliant! Released at the end of July, the Netflix-created, eight-episode prequel series is called Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp and so far it’s a lot of fun. I’ve watched the first three episodes and although the plotlines are not rocket science, watching these actors play Camp Firewood counselors like it’s 2001 is extremely entertaining. Also, the additions to the cast are fantastic: Jon Hamm as a hired assassin, Kristen Wiig as a snobby Camp Tigerclaw counselor, Josh Charles as a Camp Tigerclaw counselor, Lake Bell as a Camp Firewood counselor and “Weird Al” Yankovic as a famous hypnotist, among others.

It’s pretty amazing that Netflix was able to get all of these actors to agree to (and find time to) do this 14 years later. While some of them do look a little older (Garofolo), others must be drinking from the fountain of youth (Rudd) because they miraculously look like they haven’t aged a day. All the numbers aside, what’s important is that the entire cast has maintained sharp comedic timing and their collective chemistry is undeniable. I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the episodes and seeing how it ends/leads up to the original movie. Welcome back to Camp Firewood y’all!

 

 

 

Laura

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Blog Archive

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010

Footer

Laura Lieff was named Colorado Mountain College’s 2017-2018 Part Time Staff Member of the Year for her work as a writing tutor and teaching assistant.
Laura Lieff was named Colorado Mountain College’s 2017-2018 Part Time Staff Member of the Year for her work as a writing tutor and teaching assistant.

Work With Me

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
lieff-ink-logo_updated-2
  • About
  • Services
  • Words
  • Blog
  • Client List
  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 · PO Box 1228 Edwards CO 81632 · info@lauralieff.com