Camp (Musical)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: C+     Film: B-

 

 

In the increased desire by Hollywood to bring the Musical genre back, and writer/director Todd Graff’s Camp (2002) goes into the more post-modern Moulin Rouge direction and explicitly deals with homosexual characters.  That also makes it feel like three other films it seems to want to emulated: Godspell, Hair, and Fame (referenced literally in the dialogue).  That is not bad company and the film fares better than first expected.  For all intents and purposes, it is a Backstage Musical.

 

There is fine singing and dancing talent, and when they do not yell-sing like they are in Annie or a pre-Hip Hop Pringles ad, you buy it.  Early shots reference the played-out MTV staple The Real World, but that is a rusty staple that is one of the falsest notes in the film.  The title refers to a talent camp, called Camp Ovation, but it is also meant to reference gender issues.  To its credit, it does not dwell on gender so much that it ruins the film.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is not bad, but the color seems a bit overdone in the transfer of the digital High Definition video shooting from DuArt Labs and has some obvious detail limits.  Cinematographer Kip Bogdahn is trying to have a film that is visually between the reality and the traditional fantasy world of the Musical, but this does not always wash.  That makes it oddball, but not bad.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is decent, though nothing spectacular, opting for naturalism over punchiness, even in the music numbers.  Linda Cohen did the incidental music.  There is the original music by Trask, but songs by The Rolling Stones also turn up.

 

Extras include deleted scenes, extended scenes, the original trailer, the cast singing “How Shall I See You Through My Tears”, five other MGM/IFC trailers (Touching the Void is listed as text-only above four other MGM DVD covers), and a Making of featurette that will please fans. 

 

The humor does not always work and is too obvious at times, but the strength of the film is its energy and ambition.  The moments over the Musical Dreamgirls are often funny, though, being so way out of context to begin with.  Of course, the film decides to play with the heterosexuality of male lead Daniel Letterie, and that is where the film falls off.  Otherwise, Camp will at least please it niche audience.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo