Netflix Monday: 'Wet Hot American Summer'

Honestly, I’m not sure why it took me so long to absorb David Wain’s Wet Hot American Summer.

The cast is incredible — including David Hyde Pierce, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Ian Black, Marguerite Moreau, Christopher Meloni, Molly Shannon, Ken Marino and pre-famous appearances from Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Rudd and H. Jon Benjamin. I’m a big fan of the Stella comedy trio (Wain, Black and Michael Showalter), and it's clear their maniac, off-the-cuff touch was all over this thing. Plus, I’ve heard more and more loud praise come from its enthusiastic cult following over the years, even when initial word was mixed at best. All these forces aside, it took me exactly 14 years to the day — it came out in theaters on July 27 — to catch up. But I finally dipped my toes in its muddy waters.

Much like Arrested Development and their fourth season, it takes Netflix giving writers/co-producers Michael Showalter and Wain the freedom to come back to their malevolently goofy parody of every-and-all ‘70s-80s trope and cliché (though namely lewd summer camp comedies like the Meatballs films) with Thursday’s prequel Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp to make finally break my Wet Hot virginity. Despite all the chatter, I indirectly remained mostly — and, I would hope, blissfully — unaware of the popular catchphrases and signature moments from the movie and, knowing full well it was the film called both “hilarious” by The New Yorker and “cinematic torture” by my critic idol, Roger Ebert, I kept an open mind.

Having seen the movie, it’s fairly easy to see why opinions were divided. Proper narrative structure — and even a consistent comedic tone — be damned here by Showalter and Wain. The sketch comedy writers care more about the individual moments than the narrative whole of their picture, and that turns Wet Hot into the very definition of a hit-and-miss picture. There are beautifully off-kilter sparks of inspired-in-the-moment zaniness — most of which come at the expense of understanding the genre their parodying full well and loving it for what it is, all while playing up the cheesiness and corniness to delightfully dark or bizarre results — that are simply hilarious in ways only The State co-creators can be. But there are also more than a few moments where the writers and actors appear perplexed by how they can sustain a joke, and fumble embarrassingly into the dampened, dirt-ridden ground.

It goes by its own rhythm, and in doing so Wet Hot becomes lopsided, though sometimes fantastically or uncomfortably so. And much like Showalter and Wain’s parody collaboration last year, They Came Together, Wet Hot was — and therefore still is — a little past its ripe prime to truly fulfill the promise at their disposal with this mad-cap, tongue-in-cheek nod to the early ‘80s in 2001. It’s easy to see why this is more a cult-classic than an all-time classic, if you know what I mean. That’s not really disqualifying both, per se. Despite their apparent flaws, wonky structures and shot-gun approaches, they’re both assured and pleased with themselves in ways more charming than irritating, and I don’t think Wain/Showalter’s cleverness here was supposed to register with everyone.

It’s a send-off and tribute to a time and generation now lost, and to those who look back at those days with tilted-glasses filled with nostalgia, love, regret and pride — all this while the writers wiggle around with what they can do and what exactly they can get away with. As stressed before, the results don’t come together naturally, but it does create a loosely-fitting, carelessly liberating day-in-the-life ensemble piece adhering less to Camp Nowhere and more to Dazed and Confused, with more short shorts, wood cabins, young children’s lives in danger and talking vegetable cans.

As per usual when you have this many talented people on screen, not everyone lives up to their potential. Shannon’s character, Gail von Kleinenstein, and her subplot with arts & craft campers helping her with her marriage’s recent termination never feels connected to the overarching story and doesn’t produce anything funny or satisfying — save for one mild chuckle at its very, very end. Also — and this especially comes with the foresight of knowing what they could bring — but seeing Poehler and Cooper reduced to simple up-tight theater art counselors — Susie and Ben, respectively — who can’t fathom why their area children can’t master the talents of the stage’s finest is a near-novel idea never taken to any great lengths. It’s more-or-less filler, like many things in this movie. Black, too, is oddly thrown to the side here, and if there was ever a time where he should be in the forefront, it’s now.

Regardless of these missed opportunities, Wain does give a lot of these funny lads and ladies moments to breathe. Meloni, as Vietnam-scared cafeteria employee Gene who has more than a handful of unusual sexual obsessions, is the real scene-stealer of the bunch. Garofalo, as camp director Beth, shines very bright here too when given her moment in the spotlight. She commands a nice-girl charisma with fine ease and it’s fun to see her completely game, especially considering how reluctant she can be as an actress. It really makes you wonder how far she could have gone if she pushed herself more, or wanted to for that matter.

Moreover, Showalter’s a surprisingly cordial lead as Alan. He plays into his character’s insecurities enough to both make him human and agree with his own bent comedy, but still likable and charming all the same. If Wet Hot has a heart, he’s at the center of it. And while Rudd, as horny ladies man Andy, gets the award for the best running joke for his delirious murdering of campground children —accidentally and not — the stern second-place winner behind Meloni must go to Marino, for his persistent inexperienced lover Victor. He’s wholeheartedly inside his character’s delusionary verbose mindset as he tries to score with hottie Abby (Marisa Ryan). It really captures his best capabilities and his whatever-it-takes flair in comedies, run at just the right speed.

Brash, politically incorrect, goofy, weird, senseless — these are all terms Wet Hot American Summer wears firmly on its polo shirt sleeve. It’s not as bright and captivating as its biggest fans make it sound, but for all the dud jokes, it does really hit when it hits. And once it finds its groove, it’s hard to be turned off by the humid allure of it all, where anything can happen and you want the most ridiculous actions to come. Chances are this week’s mini-series won’t live up to the free-ranged spirit of this early 2000s favorite, but knowing the adventure was worth the hassle makes this a summer one worth remembering.