"WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER"
(2001) (Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Heavy	Minor	Heavy	Minor	None
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	None	Minor	Mild	Extreme
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Extreme	Mild	Mild	Moderate	*Moderate

---

QUICK TAKE:

Comedy: Various kids and their camp counselors try to sort out their romances and problems on the last day of summer camp.

PLOT:

It's August 1981 and the last day of summer camp at Camp Firewood. Beth (JANEANE GAROFALO), the camp director, is trying to make sure that the day's activities - including the annual talent show - go off as planned, all while keeping a romantic eye on Henry (DAVID HYDE PIERCE), a local astrophysics professor whom she asks to come over and teach the kids a thing or two about science.

Meanwhile, the various teen camp counselors are in the throes of romantic quandaries and/or hormonal rage. It's not uncommon to see Andy (PAUL RUDD) and Katie (MARGUERITE MOREAU) engaged in full lip lock, with Katie too busy or oblivious trying to find nerdy counselor Coop (MICHAEL SHOWALTER) a last minute date to notice Andy fooling around with fellow counselor Lindsay (ELIZABETH BANKS).

The perpetually lascivious Victor (KEN MARINO) finds himself enticed by camp slut Abby (MARISA RYAN), while J.J. (ZAK ORTH) is interested in finding some woman to help fellow counselor McKinley (MICHAEL IAN BLACK) lose his virginity. He seems interested, however, in Ben (BRADLEY COOPER), one of the drama counselors who works with Susie (AMY POEHLER), the uptight coordinator of the pending talent show.

Among the adults, 34-year-old Gail (MOLLY SHANNON) is lamenting her recent divorce and receives guidance and advice from Aaron (GIDEON JACOBS), one of her young charges, while camp cook and resident psycho Gene (CHRISTOPHER MELONI) torments both himself and his kitchen assistant, Gary (A.D. MILES).

As the day wears on and the big talent show looms - as does a falling piece of Skylab that's targeted the camp - everyone there tries to get in their last bit of fun and love before having to head back home for the fall.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

Fans of "The State" will probably want to, as might those of someone in the cast, but it doesn't seem likely that this film will be a big draw for kids of any age.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R

For strong sexual content, language and a drug sequence.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

Note: Certain characters are seen using drugs or acting like strung-out addicts in what may be a fantasy segment (thus such behavior is not included below).

JANEANE GAROFALO plays the camp director who falls for Henry. She uses some strong profanity and sleeps with him (not seen, but she ends up pregnant).

DAVID HYDE PIERCE plays a local associate professor who teaches some of the campers about science and then concerns himself with falling space debris that might land on the camp. He uses some brief, strong profanity and sleeps with Beth.

MOLLY SHANNON plays a camp counselor who teaches arts and crafts and spills her guts about her failed marriage to her campers.

PAUL RUDD plays a counselor who's mean and disrespectful to his girlfriend, Katie, and fools around with another counselor.

CHRISTOPHER MELONI plays the camp cook who's a bit psychotic and uses some profanity.

MICHAEL SHOWALTER plays a geeky counselor who's completely infatuated with Katie. He uses strong profanity.

MARGUERITE MOREAU plays a counselor who befriends Coop but seems to ignore/overlook how poorly Andy treats her. She uses some profanity.

KEN MARINO plays a perpetually lascivious camp counselor who wants to ditch his campers so that he can get back to camp and have sex with Abby. He uses strong profanity.

MICHAEL IAN BLACK plays another counselor who turns out to be gay, has sex with Ben and is married to him by Beth.

ZAK ORTH plays a counselor who's interested in helping another lose his virginity (by finding him a willing girl) and uses some strong profanity.

ELIZABETH BANKS plays another counselor who fools around with Andy.

A.D. MILES plays Gene's long-suffering assistant in the camp kitchen.

AMY POEHLER plays the drama counselor who's fed up with the lack of talent and uses profanity.

BRADLEY COOPER plays her cohort who turns out to be gay, has sex with McKinley and is married to him by Beth.

MARISA RYAN plays the camp slut who fools around with (and possibly sleeps with) various men at the camp.

GIDEON JACOBS plays the young camper who has wise advice for Gail about her personal life.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

---

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

---

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a quick summary of the content found in this R-rated comedy. Profanity is listed as extreme due to the use of at least 23 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also used. Various instances of sexually related dialogue are present - many of them explicit - while various couples are seen making out in exaggerated comedic style.

One encounter involves two gay men kissing and then having sex in a rather graphic, but not explicitly pornographic fashion, while two women are briefly seen kissing. Various heterosexual encounters are implied, with the camp director ending up pregnant at the end of the film from one of them, while some women are seen in various stages of revealing attire.

Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes (all played for intended laughs) and some of the other material used in comedic attempts - such as kids drowning, being thrown from moving vehicles or a woman in her thirties supposedly involved with a young teenager at the end - might be seen being of poor taste by some viewers. A few other instances of limited violence are also present.

One sequence - that may be a fantasy/spoof - shows various characters using various forms of drugs. Beyond that, some characters drink and/or smoke, and a little bit of crude material is present. Should you still be concerned about the content of this film, we suggest that you more closely examine our detailed content listings for more specific examples of what's present and occurs in the film.

---

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

People drink at a party at night.

In what seems to be a fantasy sequence of what happens when Beth and some of the counselors go into town, we see many of them smoking joints (including Coop, Lindsay, Katie and others). We then see Coop and Katie buying some cocaine and J.J. stealing a purse for drug money. We then see all of them high or strung out, and looking like heavy-duty drug addicts, some doing heroin and other drugs.

BLOOD/GORE

Victor appears to have some blood on his face.

For his act in a talent show, one of the boys lies on his back and lights one of his farts.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

Most of the following is intended in a comedic and not realistic fashion.

Andy has both types of attitudes toward Katie (despite being her "boyfriend") as he treats her like dirt and cheats on her. He also swipes his food to the floor and then begrudgingly picks it up under Beth's order, and doesn't pay any attention when he's supposed to be acting as the lifeguard on the lake (letting some kid apparently drown while he makes out with a girl).

Accordingly, some viewers might not like some of the film's subject matter (such as a kid drowning or others being thrown to the side of the road from moving vehicles) as sources of potential humor (that also includes Gail informing everyone that she's marrying the young boy in her class who helped her through her personal problems).

In what seems to be a fantasy sequence of what happens when Beth and some of the counselors go into town, J.J. steals a woman's purse and Beth kicks the victim.

Victor abandons Neil and their young charges so that the can return to camp to be with Abby. Neil then leaves the kids alone, floating down a river (eventually toward dangerous waters) and steals a motorcycle to pursue Victor.

Some guys refer to McKinley as a "fag" when they realize he's gay.

Susie is very mad and irritated most of the time.

Everyone in the audience boos the religious end of a song from the play, "Godspell," when a cross shows up on the stage.

FRIGHTENING SCENES

Although all played for laughs/satire and not even remotely seriously/realistically, one scene has some kids in a raft approaching some dangerous waters, while another has people worried about space debris falling onto the camp.

GUNS/WEAPONS

None.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "F*cked up, little cigarette smoking piece of sh*t," "F*cked up sh*t," "F*ck you," "You can just go ahead and f*ck yourself" (nonsexual), "Oh f*ck," "F*ck me" (nonsexual), "F*ck off," "Do something or get the f*ck off the stage," "Sh*thead," "Bullsh*t," "Took a sh*t," "Pretty heavy sh*t," "Goat sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Holy sh*t," "Suck(s) d*ck" (nonsexual, as in "that sucks"), "D*ckhead," "Freak out," "Your ass is so hot," "In your dreams, douche bag," "Dyke," "Why are you being such an asshole?" "Your brother is such as freak," "Slut," "You're a loser," "Kick ass," "Schmucks," "Shut up," "Busting my balls" and "Sucked."

Gene has a tattoo on his arm.

Gene gives "the finger" to Beth (behind his back), while Andy does the same to Katie and later to Coop. We also later see a girl giving "the finger" in a photo.

We learn that one kid, Arty, hasn't taken a shower or bathed the entire time he's been at camp.

Just because he's a jerk, Andy swipes his food from the table and onto the floor (where he intends to leave it until Beth makes him clean it up).

For his act in a talent show, one of the boys lies on his back and lights one of his farts.

JUMP SCENES

None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

A tiny bit of comically suspenseful music is heard in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

In the end credits, there's a song that has the "s" word in it (and possibly more).

PROFANITY

At least 23 "f" words (5 used sexually as are the terms "boink" and "banged," while 1 is used with "mother"), 11 "s" words, 9 slang terms for/using male genitals ("d*ck" and "c*ck"), 1 slang term for female genitals ("p*ssy"), 1 slang term for breasts ("t*tties"), 11 asses (3 used with "hole"), 2 damns, 8 uses of "Oh my God," 5 of "God" and 2 uses each of "G-damn," "Oh God" and "Swear to God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY

We see a woman in a bikini top.

We see all sorts of movement and hear some kissing beneath blankets covering the young campers' bunks (suggesting some sort of fooling around) and then see the boys sneaking out of the girls' cabins as well as other kids doing the same from other cabins.

We see two counselors (Katie and Andy) engaged in some deep and exaggerated French kissing.

Katie playfully tells Coop, "Your ass is so hot" and asks if he wants to be her boyfriend. They talk about her finding him a girlfriend, and he then says something like, "I want you inside me."

Victor walks up and asks Coop (about Katie), "Does she want to f*ck me?" He then states, "She definitely wants to f*ck me." In a late scene, he says the same thing about Abby, and a comment is made about wishing to pollinate her "bush."

Abby seductively sucks on and licks her spoon to get Victor all hot and bothered.

Gene mentions that something is next to his bottle of "d*ck cream."

We see Andy passionately nuzzling Katie's neck.

There's talk of someone sneaking into some place, "jerking off" and that being captured on videotape. A guy mentions that they have to get their hands on that tape, causing another to joke that it's a subject matter the first guy is familiar with.

Victor and Abby passionately make out with a great deal of urgency. When she asks him to go someplace and he says he can't, she grabs him by the clothed crotch (causing him to state he'll be back that night).

When Beth asks Katie what she'd do to impress a guy, Katie says she'd wear a sexy dress.

Andy mentions that he'd give anything for two minutes in the closet with Lindsay. She then sits down next to him wearing a small bikini and the two then make out, with her eventually up on his lap. Later, we see all of the kids watching this make out session.

Katie asks Coop about some girl he knew back in camp when he was ten and if they went "all the way." He jokingly says that they did go "all the way and back" and that they did it "doggy style" and "pony style."

After hearing that Beth is going into town, Nancy (one of other counselors) asks her to pick up "some lube" and then adds that it's for "my p*ssy."

Victor tells Neil that he's a virgin, with the later shocked and replying that it's a lie and that he knows Victor has had 50 or 60 women.

Gene mentions that he wants to go and fondle his sweaters.

A kid on the camp radio uses the term "coitus interruptus" when describing his broadcast being interrupted (but not by anything sexual).

Abby makes out with another guy and then takes off her shirt (we see her in her bra).

J.J. and another male counselor spy on some young women stripping down to their bras and panties (or similar bikini attire) to go swimming, while the guys ogle them and the camera focuses on their partially covered butts and breasts (with cleavage). One of the guys then comments that another guy, McKinley, hasn't ever been with a girl and that he needs to experience the "ultimate," causing the other to say "penis and vagina" (or "penis in vagina"). They then mention that the girls are really horny this summer and that they're sure they can get one of them to "boink" this other guy. Later they talk about some girl who's "in heat" and wants to get "banged."

We then see, however, that McKinley is gay as he goes off to see Ben and the two then take off their shirts and kiss. We then see them having sex (one behind the other) with movement and related sounds (a torso shot and then a shot of their legs during this, but nothing graphically explicit).

The camera focuses on Lindsay's butt in her very tight shorts and she then tells Andy that she wants to make out.

Beth and Henry make out and Abby and J.J., and Andy and Lindsay do the same (in different scenes).

Coop and Katie make out and he then falls for her, saying he wants to do many things for/with her, including having sex with her.

A can of mixed veggies talks to Gene (or he imagines it) and the can says that it can "suck my own d*ck" and that it does it a lot.

Gene addresses the students, bids them farewell, and then announces that he's going to go "hump" the refrigerator. He then admits to owning "d*ck cream" and fondling his sweaters. A fridge is then wheeled out to him and he slowly proceeds to hump it as both are wheeled away.

Henry tells Beth that he has a problem. She asks if he has crabs and he says that he does, but that's not the point of the problem he's concerned about.

Victor tells Abby that he wants to make love to her (as she makes out with some other guy).

Abby and another woman kiss while in the audience for the talent show.

Coop and Katie make out.

Beth informs Henry that she's pregnant from an early encounter they had (that we didn't see).

Gail informs everyone that she's marrying the young boy in her class who helped her through her personal problems.

Katie says that she wants to take Andy, grab him and "just f*ck his brains out," stating her priorities right now are having sex with Andy, and not Coop.

SMOKING

Katie, Lindsay, Beth and Coop all smoke once, while a few minor/miscellaneous characters also smoke.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

We learn that Gail and her husband are divorced and that she's still very upset about this.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

What goes on at summer camp (or at least in the movies) and this film's efforts to satirize both.

Homosexuality (two of the men turn out to be gay, have sex and are married by Beth) and two women kiss.

VIOLENCE

Most of the following is intended in a comedic and not realistic fashion.

One counselor smacks another and the two then go at each other with the larger one pushing the smaller down.

Some young kid presumably drowns when Andy is too preoccupied making out with Lindsay to save him. We then see Andy driving along with some kid who said they were going to tell Beth about the drowning and we then see the van driving down the road and the kid being tossed from it onto the side of the road.

In what seems to be a fantasy sequence of what happens when Beth and some of the counselors go into town, J.J. steals a woman's purse and Beth kicks the victim.

Victor accidentally drives a van into a tree, smashing the van's front (but he's unharmed).

A kid presumably drowns after being dragged behind a water ski boat (driven by Andy) and we then see another kid (a witness) being thrown out of a moving van onto the side of the road (just like in the above scene).

A person slaps Victor to make him go and save some kids.

Reviewed August 16, 2001 / Posted August 31, 2001

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.

All Rights Reserved,
©1996-2022 Screen It, Inc.